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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29035653">Aftermath</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/molstrom/pseuds/molstrom'>molstrom</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Veronica Mars (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:48:23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,168</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29035653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/molstrom/pseuds/molstrom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Non-canon Veronica/Weevil story. We'll bounce along with canon for a while, then it's going to veer sharply left. Honestly, most of you know me by now, you know how I do. 🤷</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Veronica Mars/Eli "Weevil" Navarro</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I had been home from my stakeout of the Camelot for about ten minutes when there was a knock on the door. Backup starts growling as I walk over to the door, so I say:<br/>
“That’s really helpful, buddy. Aren’t you supposed to let me know someone’s here before they knock on the door?”</p>
<p>I look out the window and see Weevil standing outside the door. When I open the door a crack he says:<br/>
“Can I come in?”<br/>
“Nope.”<br/>
He sighs and shakes his head before saying:<br/>
“How are you going to get my guys off?”<br/>
“I have my ways.”<br/>
“Vague.”<br/>
“There’s no need for you to know. By the way, who wrote on Wallace’s chest when you taped him to the pole?”<br/>
“Felix. Why?”<br/>
“He spelled snitch wrong. Left out the T.”<br/>
“I’ll be sure to let him know for next time.”<br/>
“You do that. Goodnight, Weevil.”<br/>
“Yeah. Goodnight, Veronica.”</p>
<p>A week later I’m on the beach with Wallace after getting the Sac-N-Pac tape out of evidence when Logan and his gang of miscreants arrive and stand around my car. Wallace and I walk over and Logan says:<br/>
“Hey, Veronica Mars. You know what your little joke cost me?”<br/>
“Well, I’m pretty sure you won’t be getting your bong back.”<br/>
He uses the tire iron he has in his hands to smash one of my headlights as his friends laugh and then says:<br/>
“Wrong answer. Would you care to guess again?”<br/>
“Clearly your sense of humour.”<br/>
He smashes my other headlight and says:<br/>
“Nope. Geez, Ronnie. You’re usually so good at pop quizzes. The correct answer is my car.”<br/>
He puts the tire iron behind his neck and walks closer to me as I hear motorcycles approaching.</p>
<p>The PCHers park and get off their bikes, Weevil walking over to Logan and me while Felix walks over to the car the miscreants showed up in. Felix makes a comment about the O-Town cd in the 09er’s car and Weevil says:<br/>
“What do we have here? Vandalism? No, no, no. No vandalism happens in this town without my say-so.”<br/>
Logan says:<br/>
“Listen, man, I don’t have a problem with you.”<br/>
“Well, that’s unfortunate. Because if you have a problem with Veronica, then I have a problem with you.”<br/>
Weevil takes the tire iron from Logan and starts hitting the hood of the 09er’s car. He causes quite a large dent before smashing the headlights and handing the tire iron to one of the 09ers and saying:<br/>
“That’s it. Head for the hills.”<br/>
He points at Logan and says:<br/>
“Except for you. You, say you’re sorry.”<br/>
“Rub a lamp.”<br/>
Weevil punches Logan in the stomach and Logan drops to the ground.<br/>
“I said, say you’re sorry.”<br/>
Logan stands up and says:<br/>
“Kiss my ass.”<br/>
Weevil punches him in the face and Logan drops to the ground again. As Logan stands up I say:<br/>
“Let him go.”<br/>
“Are you sure? I could do this for a while.”<br/>
“I don’t want his apology.”<br/>
Logan and his followers leave and Weevil says:<br/>
“So that tape from the Sac N Pac just went poof.”<br/>
“Really? That’s fortunate.”<br/>
“My uncle has a body shop on the highway. If you come in we’ll make sure your body gets the full-service treatment.”<br/>
“Now you apologize.”<br/>
“I’m sorry. Was that too dirty?”<br/>
“Not to me, dork. To Wallace.”<br/>
“Yeah…no.”<br/>
“He’s got the only copy of the tape. Come on, Wallace. Let’s decide what to do with it.”<br/>
“Alright, alright. I’m sorry. Can I have the tape please?”<br/>
Wallace thinks for a second, then says:<br/>
“Nope.”<br/>
Wallace and I both laugh and start walking away, but Weevil grabs my wrist and pulls me back to him. I turn around to look at him and he says:<br/>
“Echolls didn’t hurt you, did he?”<br/>
I shake my head and say:<br/>
“No. Just my car.”<br/>
“Good.”<br/>
He lets go of me and starts to walk away, but I say:<br/>
“Weevil? Why do you care?”<br/>
“I have no idea, V.”</p>
<p>Later that night I’m at the office going through Dad’s safe when I hear the main office door open. I start quietly putting things back thinking it’s Dad coming in, but then I hear Weevil’s voice say:<br/>
“V? You here?”<br/>
“In the private office.”<br/>
He walks in and kneels on the ground next to me.<br/>
“What are you doing, V?”<br/>
“Seeing what my dad is hiding from me.”<br/>
I sort through papers until I realize what I’m looking at.<br/>
“Lilly’s murder file.”<br/>
“Your dad is still investigating that?”<br/>
“I didn’t realize he was.”<br/>
“What are you going to do?”<br/>
“Make copies and put the original back.”<br/>
“Why?”<br/>
“So I can figure out who really killed my best friend. You want to help?”<br/>
“Why would I do that?”<br/>
“Because you loved her.”<br/>
“How do you know that?”<br/>
“I know everything. You’ll learn. Do you want to help or not?”<br/>
“Yeah. I’ll help.”</p>
<p>We are finished photocopying everything and I’ve put the original back in the safe when Dad walks in. He looks at us and says:<br/>
“Daughter. Eli. What are you doing here?”<br/>
Weevil says:<br/>
“I’m just leaving. Veronica was just helping me with a math problem I didn’t understand. Goodnight Sheriff.”<br/>
Dad shakes his head and says:<br/>
“Wait. Eli, we’re having Mama Leone’s for dinner and I’ve rented the South Park movie. Why don’t you come join us?”<br/>
“Are you sure, sheriff? I don’t want to intrude.”<br/>
“Yeah. I’m sure. And I’m not the sheriff anymore, Eli.”<br/>
“Yeah, but the current sheriff is an idiot.”<br/>
“You’ll hear no arguments from me about that. Let’s go, kids.”</p>
<p>I stand up and grab my bag before I say:<br/>
“I have a stop to make on my way home. I’ll meet you there.”<br/>
Weevil looks at me questioningly, but Dad just says:<br/>
“Okay. Don’t take too long or I’ll let Backup eat your dinner.”<br/>
“Fair enough.”<br/>
As we walk out of the office, Weevil grabs my arm and whispers:<br/>
“Where are you going?”<br/>
“The Camelot. I just need to see…”<br/>
“See what, V?”<br/>
“If my mom is still there. She’s who Jake Kane was meeting the other night.”<br/>
“I’ll come with you.”<br/>
“No. I’m okay. I won’t be long. Don’t let dad feed my dinner to Backup.”<br/>
“You sure, V?”<br/>
“Yeah. Go.”</p>
<p>When I get to the apartment, they’re both sitting at the counter eating dinner. Weevil looks at me as I walk in and I just shake my head slightly. I put my bag in my room and come back out to eat. When I sit down next to Weevil, Dad hands me a plate loaded with pasta and salad. As I’m lifting my first bite to my mouth, dad says:<br/>
“So when did the two of you become friends again?”<br/>
I put my fork down and say:<br/>
“Today. But us being friends isn’t that strange, Dad. We used to be close.”<br/>
“Yes. Before I had to start arresting Eli.”<br/>
“Yeah, well…that won’t be an issue anymore.”<br/>
“Oh? Is he going to stop breaking the law?”<br/>
“Probably not, but you aren’t sheriff anymore.”<br/>
I wink at Dad and he shakes his head at me before saying:<br/>
“Alright sassy.”<br/>
“Can I eat now?”<br/>
“Sure. We’re going to go start the movie.”<br/>
I mock gasp and say:<br/>
“Rude.”<br/>
“You have every line memorized, Number One Daughter. I think you’ll survive.”<br/>
“Fine. Start the movie without me.”<br/>
They both get up and go into the living room. Dad puts the movie in and sits in the armchair while Weevil sits on the couch with his back against the armrest so he can look straight at the tv. </p>
<p>I finish my dinner and clean up the dishes while they start the movie, then I walk into the living room and sit on the couch between Weevil’s legs, leaning back against his chest. I feel his sharp intake of breath as I do, so I glance at him and whisper:<br/>
“Is this okay?”<br/>
“Yeah. Just unexpected.”<br/>
He wraps his arms around me and the combination of a familiar movie, his steady heartbeat under my ear, the warmth of his body, and feeling safe and protected lulls me to sleep. </p>
<p>When I wake up, Dad is carrying me into my room.<br/>
“Did I sleep through the whole movie?”<br/>
“And then some. Eli says he’ll see you at school tomorrow.”<br/>
“Okay.”<br/>
He puts me down on my bed and pulls a blanket over me as he kisses my forehead.<br/>
“Goodnight Veronica.”<br/>
“Goodnight Daddy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Posted right after chapter one. Read that one first.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The rest of the week at school was normal aside from the odd time Weevil gently brushed his fingers down my arm or across my back while walking past me in the hallway. The first time it happened Wallace was with me and said:<br/>	“What the hell was that?”<br/>	“I have no idea.”</p>
<p>On Friday Wallace gets the bright idea to crash an 09er party and I have to explain to him what 09ers are:<br/>	“They live in the prestigious 90909 zip code. They’re the really rich kids, Wallace.”<br/>	“Why is the flyer for the party in code?”<br/>	“To keep undesirables, that’s us by the way, from attending. It’s at Dog Beach after dark.”<br/>	“How do you know that?”<br/>	“I used to date Duncan Kane. Lilly Kane was my best friend.”<br/>	“Oh. Shall we crash the party?”<br/>	“I did have an exciting night of taking Backup for a run planned, but sure. Fine. But you cannot leave me alone with those people.”<br/>	“Because they’re awful?”<br/>	“Because then I might need bail money and a good lawyer.”<br/>	“Fair enough.”</p>
<p>Later that night we both walk to Dog Beach and meet in the parking lot. I hook my arm through his and we walk down to the beach. We get there right as Weevil and the other PCHers arrive and I look at Wallace and sigh before saying:<br/>	“This is not going to end well.”<br/>	“That might be an understatement, Veronica. We should go over there.”<br/>We walk over closer to where a crowd has gathered around Logan and Weevil. They’re snarking back and forth and then Logan brings Weevil’s grandma into the conversation and I take a step forward. Wallace holds me in place and quietly says:<br/>	“He’ll never forgive you for getting in the middle. Let him handle it.”<br/>	“I love Mrs. Navarro. She takes care of Logan because his parents suck. Bringing her into this is awful.”<br/>	“I get that, but you need to let Weevil handle it.”<br/>I sigh and watch as Weevil’s cousin Chardo steps up next to Weevil and joins in the conversation. Before anything else can happen, a siren goes off and I hear Sheriff Lamb’s voice over a loudspeaker.<br/>	“This is the sheriff’s department. I want your IDs out and everyone remain where you are.”<br/>Most of the people at the party start running, 09ers and PCHers alike, but I lead Wallace towards the parking lot, past the sheriff’s car. When we get to the door of the car Lamb says:<br/>	“Veronica Mars. Not worried I’m going to arrest you?”<br/>	“Nope. I know you’re just here for the kegs. Have a nice night, Deputy.”<br/>	“It’s sheriff now, Mars.”<br/>	“Uh huh. Whatever you say Don.”<br/>Wallace and I separate once we’re on the other side of the parking lot, him walking towards his house, and me walking towards my apartment. </p>
<p>I’m about halfway home when I hear a motorcycle come up behind me and Weevil say:<br/>	“Get on. I’ll take you home.”<br/>I walk over to him and take the helmet he’s offering me.<br/>	“Thanks.”<br/>I get on the bike behind him and wrap my arms tightly around his waist. When we get to the parking lot of my building he parks and I get off saying:<br/>	“Weevil, what is this?”<br/>	“I don’t know, V. Do we have to figure that out now?”<br/>	“Nope.”<br/>I hand him his helmet and lean in before gently brushing my lips against his. I start walking away but before I get far he reaches out and grabs my wrist, pulling me back towards him before pulling me tight against himself and kissing me deeply. When we pull apart he tucks a bit of hair behind my ear and says:<br/>	“Goodnight, V.”<br/>	“Goodnight, Weevil.”<br/>I walk away and don’t hear his motorcycle leave until I’m closing the apartment door behind me.</p>
<p>The next day Dad and I are at the office when Cliff comes by. He mentions that Mrs. Navarro has been arrested for credit card fraud and he’s doubtful that she was actually the culprit. Supposedly she stole pre-approved credit card offers from the Echolls family trash and racked up charges. Both Dad and Cliff seem to think it was actually Weevil, so they ask me to look into it at school. That night I go to Weevil’s house and I’m outside looking at his motorcycle when he walks out.<br/>	“I’ve hospitalized people for less than what you’re doing right now.”<br/>	“I’m just admiring the paint job.”<br/>	“That’s not what you’re doing and we both know it.”<br/>	“I’m just following up on a few things for the lawyer who is representing your grandma.”<br/>	“He says I should confess.”<br/>	“Should you?”<br/>	“I’ve got nothing to say to you, V.”<br/>	“Weevil, your grandma’s in jail.”<br/>	“Oh, are you reminding me? ‘Cause I almost forgot.”<br/>	“I’m just saying, with your reputation you can’t blame Cliff for thinking that it was you.”<br/>	“Oh? So we should believe what everybody says about you? That you like it a little freaky? That you stalk Duncan?”<br/>I interrupt him and say:<br/>	“Weevil…before you say something else designed purely to hurt me, I don’t think you did it. But I know your grandma didn’t. So who did?”<br/>He shakes his head and says:<br/>	“I don’t know.”<br/>	“Fine. I’ll look into it. Don’t do anything stupid.”<br/>I turn to walk back to my car and he says:<br/>	“Veronica, I’m sorry.”<br/>I don’t say anything, just get in my car and drive away.</p>
<p>On Monday at school I find out Wallace is working in the administration office, so I ask him to get me Weevil’s attendance records for the past month. Once he gets them to me I realize I can prove that it definitely wasn’t Weevil who made the credit card purchases. He was in auto shop during fourth period when the online purchases were made. After school I head to the office to tell Dad that it wasn’t Weevil, but Cliff tells me that Weevil confessed, so Mrs. Navarro was released.</p>
<p>The next day I’m sitting in journalism class when Logan and his girlfriend Caitlyn start talking about Mrs. Navarro. Without looking at them I say:<br/>	“Did you know that 90% of identity theft is committed by relatives of the victim? Just thought that was interesting.”<br/>Logan grins at me and says:<br/>	“Be honest, Veronica. Are you just in this class to be closer to Duncan?”<br/>	“No. I’m here to be closer to you. Actually, they were thinking about putting me in your fourth period government class.”<br/>Caitlyn says:<br/>	“We have computer lab fourth period.”<br/>	“Oh. Shoot.”<br/>I print out the browser history from Logan’s computer in his computer lab class and realize it wasn’t him who stole the credit cards either. I’m at a loss, but after school I have to go take pictures of a surfing event that Duncan’s writing about, and when my car has a mysterious flat tire, Duncan offers to drive while Troy fixes my tire. On the way we pass Weevil cleaning up garbage on the side of the road. He sees me in the car with Duncan and as our eyes meet he looks upset. Not angry, just…hurt.</p>
<p>After getting the pictures taken, I get Dad to come with me to the Neptune Grand to check who signed for one of the fraudulent charges. After putting on quite the show, we find out that Caitlyn signed for the room service. </p>
<p>The next day at school Wallace and I are having lunch when Troy sits down with us and invites us to a party on Saturday.<br/>	“Haven’t you heard? I’m not allowed in the first class cabin.”<br/>	“I don’t believe in much, but I do believe this…When sexy, sassy girls can’t come to my party, maybe everyone involved just needs to stand up and say sorry.”<br/>Wallace says:<br/>	“That was beautiful, man.”<br/>I laugh and shake my head before saying:<br/>	“Troy, I’m seeing someone.”<br/>He looks around and says:<br/>	“Who? I don’t see him.”<br/>	“Weevil Navarro.”<br/>	“The biker?”<br/>	“Yup.”<br/>	“Walking away now. Let me know if that changes.”<br/>	“Will do.”<br/>After he leaves, Wallace says:<br/>	“Since when are you seeing the guy who duct-taped me butt-naked to the flagpole a week ago?”<br/>	“Man, you hold a grudge. We’re not seeing each other. I don’t know what we’re doing. He kissed me, and then the next night he said some cruel things, and now he’s in jail. I don’t know what’s happening. I do know that I want nothing to do with Troy though.”<br/>I pack up my stuff and go to leave and Wallace says:<br/>	“Where you off to, Supafly?”<br/>	“Need to get Weevil out, so I need to figure out if it was Caitlyn on her own or if Logan helped.”</p>
<p>I go into the journalism room and start calling numbers from the Neptune Grand’s bill. All the numbers are associated with Caitlyn’s family or friends. When I get to the last number, I get a busy signal, so I call Dad and get him to run the number for me. It’s Chardo, Weevil’s cousin. After lunch I ambush him in the hallway and shove him into the girls’ bathroom, jamming the door closed behind us.<br/>	“Best watch it little girl.”<br/>	“Confess. It’s good for the soul.”<br/>	“What?”<br/>	“Moron says what?”<br/>	“What?”	<br/>“You’re busted, Chardo. Do I have to spell it out for you?”<br/>	“Yeah. Why don’t you?”<br/>	“You are the one who stole the high-limit, pre-approved cards from the Echolls family trash. You used them to take Caitlyn Ford out in the manner in which she is accustomed. But the best part is, your cousin Weevil takes the fall, so you’re promoted.”<br/>	“I didn’t want that to happen. Weevil’s like my brother.”<br/>	“Well, your brother is out picking up garbage on the side of the road.”<br/>	“I got a plan.”<br/>	“I’m all ears.”<br/>	“Caitlyn and me? We’re in love. We’re gonna run away together.”<br/>I shake my head and he says:<br/>	“We are. And once we’re gone, I’ll write a confession and send it back. They gotta let Weevil go then.”<br/>	“Chardo, Caitlyn is never gonna run away with you.”<br/>	“You don’t know her.”<br/>	“Oh, but I do. You are a forbidden treat. You aren’t who she ends up with.”<br/>He starts walking towards the door and I say:<br/>	“You can’t go out there, because Logan knows and he wants your head on a pike.”<br/>	“I ain’t hiding from him.”<br/>	“What are you gonna do when Weevil finds out?”<br/>	“How’s he gonna find out?”<br/>	“You should turn yourself in.”<br/>	“I’m not going anywhere without her.”<br/>He walks out of the bathroom and I go to Mrs. Navarro’s house. I tell her everything and beg her to tell the sheriff the truth, that it was Chardo who gave her the diamond pendant that was purchased with the credit cards.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I’m still at Mrs. Navarro’s when the sheriff’s department brings Weevil home. After he hugs his grandma he walks up the porch steps and says:<br/>	“I hear you’re to thank for this Kodak moment. Didn’t you hear? The bad guy was already in jail. Give me some love.”<br/>He wraps me in a hug and whispers in my ear:<br/>	“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. You know I don’t believe the rumours about you. I’m sorry.”<br/>	“It’s fine, Weevil. I have thick skin. I can take it.”<br/>	“You’re a marshmallow, Veronica Mars.”<br/>	“Why does everyone keep saying that? Ugh.”<br/>He laughs and kisses me softly, barely touching his lips to mine before starting to pull away.<br/>	“You should know, the judge issued a warrant for Chardo after authorizing your release. The sheriffs will be looking for him.”<br/>	“Well, they won’t be the only ones.”<br/>	“Logan and the 09ers are looking for him too. You should find him before they do.”<br/>	“We’ll find him.”<br/>I lean in and kiss his cheek and then head home. </p>
<p>I had been home about an hour when there’s a knock on the door. Backup doesn’t move from his spot on the couch and doesn’t bark or growl so I know it’s someone he knows and trusts. I open the door and Weevil says:<br/>	“Cute pyjamas.”<br/>	“Well, I didn’t expect company. Come in.”<br/>He walks inside and as I close the door he says:<br/>	“Where’s your Dad?”<br/>	“Had to go out of town. Did you find Chardo?”<br/>	“Yeah. I left the guys jumping him out of the club.”<br/>	“I’m sorry, Weevil.”<br/>	“For what? Getting me out of juvie? You didn’t do anything wrong, V.”<br/>	“It was more of a generic I’m sorry than an actual admission of guilt.”<br/>He steps closer to me and reaches his hand out, gently running his fingers along the strip of bare skin between my tank top and my pyjama pants. I sharply inhale and he grips my hip and pulls me closer to himself before leaning in and brushing his nose against mine. Our lips are barely touching when I say:<br/>	“What are we doing, Weevil?”<br/>	“I’m gonna kiss you and then we’re going to cuddle on the couch and watch a movie.”<br/>	“You know what I mean.”<br/>	“I do. But I think you know the answer already. I mean, you are the one who told Troy Vandegraff that we were seeing each other.”<br/>	“I wanted him to back off.”<br/>	“What about me? You want me to back off?”<br/>	“Honestly?”</p>
<p>He backs away from me and says:<br/>	“Yeah. Honestly.”<br/>I step towards him and put my hand on his cheek.<br/>	“Honestly, I want you to come to my room with me.”<br/>	“And what do you want to do in your room, V?”<br/>I shake my head and shrug while saying:<br/>	“I don’t know. I just know I want you in my bed.”<br/>	“Veronica…I think we should talk before I go into your room.”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“Because I want you, but…V, all of those rumours are lies aren’t they? You’re a virgin.”<br/>	“Technically no. I was raped at Shelly’s year-end party last year. So…technically, not a virgin.”<br/>	“That wasn’t your choice. It doesn’t count.”<br/>	“Thank you for not looking at me with pity.”<br/>	“There’s nothing to pity, sweetheart. It’s something that happened to you. They didn’t damage you or take anything away from you.”<br/>I just stare at him for a second and then I moved towards him quickly, capturing his lips with my own and wrapping my arms around his neck. He moans against my mouth and wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me tight against himself. We kiss for a few minutes and then he pulls away slightly and says:<br/>	“Tell me what you want, V.”<br/>	“You. Please, Weevil.”<br/>	“You sure that this is what you want for your first time?”<br/>	“I want you for my first time. Please.”<br/>	“Shouldn’t we wait, baby?”<br/>	“I don’t want to. Do you?”<br/>	“No. Not even a little bit.”<br/>I take his hand and lead him down the hall and into my room. </p>
<p>A while later we’re lying on my bed, curled together under a blanket. He runs his fingers down my face and says:<br/>	“Are you okay, sweetheart?”<br/>	“I’m a little sore, but yeah. I’m okay.”<br/>	“So…do you regret your decision?”<br/>	“No. Why would you even ask that?”<br/>	“I’m not good enough for you.”<br/>I shake my head and kiss him before saying:<br/>	“You’re an idiot.”<br/>	“Really? An idiot?”<br/>	“Yeah. You are an idiot if you think that you aren’t good enough for me.”<br/>I shift so I’m straddling him and I lean down to kiss him. As we kiss he runs his hands over me and I move against him. He moves his mouth off mine and says:<br/>	“You’re sore, V.”<br/>	“Not that sore. Make love to me, Eli.”<br/>He growls and flips us so he’s on top of me before he goes back to kissing me.</p>
<p>For the next few months, we quietly date, spending time together after school either just hanging out or working on Lilly’s case. At school, we tend to keep to our usual groups, him with the PCHers and me with Wallace, aside from stolen moments in the girls’ bathroom. </p>
<p>About a week before Christmas break starts we’re in the bathroom one day during fourth period when he says:<br/>	“You’re doing the whole daddy-daughter time thing tonight, right?”<br/>	“That’s right. We’re decorating for Christmas. Why?”<br/>	“Just confirming that I don’t get to see you tonight.”<br/>	“Ah. Well, I think it’s probably best to not make you participate in Mars family Christmas traditions just yet…They might scare you off.”<br/>He kisses me and says:<br/>	“If your crazy intensity hasn’t scared me off yet, nothing will.”<br/>	“Ha! You’ve never experienced Keith Mars preparing for Christmas. Trust me, my love, I’m saving you.”<br/>	“So I’ll just see you tomorrow then?”<br/>	“Yeah…But in the meantime, we still have fifteen minutes left of fourth period.”<br/>	“You’re right. We do.”<br/>I reach out and quickly undo his belt and pants before whispering in his ear:<br/>	“Fuck me, Weevil.”<br/>He shakes his head and says:<br/>	“Look at my girl, embracing the bathroom quickie.”<br/>	“Hey, I’ll take what I can get. Come on, vato. We’re on a schedule here.”</p>
<p>The next day at school I watch as Duncan yells at Weevil about his missing laptop, so after Weevil walks away I have a conversation with Duncan.<br/>	“Someone stole your laptop?”<br/>	“There was this poker game last night at Logan’s. Weevil won five grand, and someone stole the money. This is his way of collecting.”<br/>	“You lie down with dogs, you’re gonna get fleas.”<br/>	“I didn’t invite him.”<br/>	“Yeah, I wasn’t talking about Weevil.”<br/>I start to walk away and he follows me, saying:<br/>	“Hey, this kind of concerns you.”<br/>	“I don’t see how.”<br/>	“I keep a journal on my laptop, last three years or so. There was a time you featured heavily.”<br/>	“Please tell me you used a clever nickname.”<br/>	“No. And I was…prolific.”</p>
<p>Duncan walks away and I go in search of Eli. I find him in a dark classroom with his boys playing a dice game. I walk in, tilt my head and say:<br/>	“Hey.”<br/>He laughs and says:<br/>	“See? There you go with that head-tilt thing. You think you’re all badass, but whenever you want something it’s all ‘hey’.”<br/>	“Just be grateful I don’t flip my hair. I’d own you.”<br/>	“What do you want?”<br/>	“I want you to not get busted stealing 09ers’ stuff and let me handle this poker thing. Seriously, why risk it? Give Duncan back his computer. Let me handle this.”<br/>	“Could you? Please, Veronica. Protect me from the big, bad, sweater-vest-wearing rich boys.”<br/>	“I’m just trying to help.”<br/>	“In what alternate universe does it look like I need your help, huh?”<br/>I put my hands up in defeat and walk towards the door. When I get there he says:<br/>	“Of course, if I get my five grand, some of those guys will stop losing their stuff.”<br/>I turn around and say:<br/>	“Why were you even there?”<br/>He stands up and walks towards me while saying:<br/>	“I hear about a $5000 card game played by idiots…I’m interested. Logan thought I was just some dumb Mexican he could take for his cash.”<br/>	“Who do you think did it? Did Logan do it?”<br/>	“I know no-one left the house with the money. Logan could have hidden it anywhere. And he had the opportunity. Lynn decided to take a swim in an itty-bitty bikini. Everyone but Logan was at the window watching. The money was in that house somewhere. I would have torn the place apart if I didn’t think he’d have called the cops.”<br/>I nod and leave the classroom.</p>
<p>I have another conversation with Duncan before lunch is over and I’m walking to my fourth-period class when Weevil grabs me and leads me into the bathroom. He jams the door shut and reaches for me, but I step away from him.<br/>	“What's wrong, V?”<br/>	“You were an asshole to me not fifteen minutes ago. You really think I’m going to fuck you now?”<br/>	“Veronica…I’m sorry.”<br/>	“Congratulations. I’ll help you get your money, but right now I don’t want you touching me. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to class.”<br/>	“Veronica, talk to me.”<br/>	“In what alternate universe do you think I want to talk to you right now?”<br/>I walk past him and open the door. As I’m walking out of the room he says:<br/>	“Veronica, I love you.”<br/>	“And I love you. I’m just pissed at you right now.”</p>
<p>I finish the school day and then have conversations with Logan and Conner, two of the other guys at the poker game. The next morning I have a conversation with Sean, the last guy at the game. </p>
<p>At lunch, I walk up to Weevil and say:<br/>	“I figured it out. I’m going to go talk to the idiots. Want to come?”<br/>	“Oh, you’re speaking to me again?”<br/>	“You hurt my feelings.”<br/>	“I’m sorry, baby.”<br/>I reach out and squeeze his hand before letting go and walking over to where Duncan, Logan, and Sean are sitting. I come to a stop in front of Logan and say:<br/>	“Good news, Bad news. The good news is, I know who stole the money. The bad news is, *I* know who stole the money. Here’s my brilliant idea. You are going to host another poker game.”<br/>Logan looks at me and smiles before saying:<br/>	“Really?”<br/>	“I’m thinking tonight.”<br/>	“My mother’s Christmas party is tonight.”<br/>	“So no BYOB then.”<br/>I sit down next to him and continue:<br/>	“Here’s how it will go down. I’ll tell you who did it, and you’ll buy me into the game. I’ll just take the spot of whoever stole the money.”<br/>	“Even if you keep talking, it’s not going to happen.”<br/>	“Oh. I thought you guys might all want your stuff back.”<br/>Weevil says:<br/>“Yeah. If I get my five grand, things might start reappearing.”<br/>I say:<br/>	“And if you think about it, anyone who doesn’t see this as a great offer is obviously guilty.”<br/>	“Do you even know how to play poker?”<br/>	“No. But it must be really hard if all you guys play.”</p>
<p>Later that night at Logan’s, I walk them through my investigation, showing them how I figured out that Sean stole the money. When he apologizes and Weevil suggests they go for a walk to chat, I sit down at the table.</p>
<p>I’m beating them all when Logan suggests taking a break to let the cosmos realign, so we go into the main house to get food from the party. While Weevil and I are filling plates, I see Jake Kane go into a private room. I hand my plate to Weevil and say:<br/>	“Can you hold this for a second? I’ll be right back.”<br/>	“Yeah. Babe, are you okay?”<br/>	“I just need a second.”<br/>I follow Jake into the room and ask him about the surveillance photos I found in Mom’s safety deposit box months ago. <br/>	“Does your head of security make a habit of taking pictures of high school students and drawing targets over their faces or am I special?”<br/>	“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Veronica.”<br/>	“Your head of security took photos of me that made my mom leave town. Why?”<br/>	“I don’t know.”<br/>	“Why did you want my mom to leave town?”<br/>	“I didn’t!”<br/>	“I don’t believe you.”<br/>He leaves the room and as I watch he grabs his wife Celeste’s arm and says:<br/>	“What did you do? What did you do?!”<br/>Jake drags her out of the party as Weevil walks over to me and leads me back into the room. He closes the door behind us and wraps his arms around me before whispering:<br/>	“It’s okay, V. We’re alone, you can let it go now.”<br/>I start crying and he moves over to a chair, sitting down before he pulls me onto his lap. He tightly wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head.<br/>	“Tell me, Veronica.”<br/>I take a deep breath and tell him everything, from my mom leaving, to me finding the surveillance photos of me in her safety deposit box, to me figuring out that the head of security at Kane Software is the one that took them, to Abel Koontz telling me that Jake Kane is my father.<br/>	“When did you go see Abel Koontz?”<br/>	“A few months ago.”<br/>	“Why didn’t you tell me?”<br/>	“I don’t know. I was going to, but then he told me that Jake is my Dad, and I just…”<br/>	“Needed time to process?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>Before either of us can say anything else, there’s screaming coming from the party. We rush out and find out that Aaron Echolls, Logan’s dad, has been stabbed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I enlist his help to get something out of the evidence room at the sheriff’s station one night in January, getting him to distract the new deputy while I sneak in and out of the room. When I leave the station, he’s sitting on his motorcycle in the parking lot. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck as he says:<br/>
“Don’t make me do that again, V. I really hated watching you flirt with someone else.”<br/>
“You know I didn’t mean it. You’re the only one I want.”<br/>
“Come away with me this weekend.”<br/>
“Yeah, Dad will go for that. Eli, he won’t even let you spend the night on the couch. You think he’ll let me leave with you for the weekend?”<br/>
“Ugh…I just want to be alone with you.”<br/>
“Dad is going away next weekend. Come stay with me.”<br/>
“He’ll be gone the whole weekend?”<br/>
“Yup. Dad will probably tell Sacks to keep an eye on me, but he can be bribed with doughnuts.”<br/>
“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to wait until next weekend.”<br/>
“Take me home, boyfriend.”<br/>
“Yes, bossy. Get on.”</p><p>I climb on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and running my fingers over his abdomen while he drives us to my apartment building. When we get there I say:<br/>
“Come inside. Dad’s car isn’t here. We can cuddle on the couch and watch a movie.”<br/>
“Are you sure that’s what you want to do? Because I can think of other uses for an empty apartment.”<br/>
“I have no idea how long he’ll be gone, so we should probably stick with PG-13 cuddling on the couch. Besides, didn’t we have sex earlier?”<br/>
He grumbles under his breath as we walk to the apartment:<br/>
“A quickie in the bathroom at school, yeah. Barely counts.”<br/>
“Poor neglected baby.”<br/>
“I just want to lay you down and worship your body…What is so wrong about that?”<br/>
“Absolutely nothing, and if we didn’t live at home with Keith Mars and Letty Navarro, we’d have more opportunities for it. But since we do, you’ll just have to make do with bathroom quickies.”<br/>
“When can we move out?”<br/>
“After we graduate from high school.”<br/>
“That’s over a year away.”<br/>
“Lo siento mi amor.” (Sorry my love.)<br/>
“Oh, don’t do that. Don’t start speaking Spanish after telling me I can’t have you.”</p><p>I pull him into the apartment and close the door before wrapping my arms around his neck and saying:<br/>
“You’re a little petulant tonight, Eli.”<br/>
“I just miss being alone with you and I hated watching you with him tonight.”<br/>
“I’m yours, Eli.”<br/>
“Yeah, but no-one except for your Dad, Wallace, Felix, and my Grandma know that.”<br/>
“Mac knows too. But I’m not opposed to going public with our relationship. It’s not like we’ve been trying to hide it, we just haven’t announced it.”<br/>
“I thought you wanted to keep it a secret.”<br/>
“Why the hell would I want that? I love you. I’m good with the whole world knowing.”<br/>
He leans in and kisses me before picking me up and walking towards my bedroom.<br/>
“Hey, buddy, what did I say about sex?”<br/>
“No sex, I promise. I just want to lie on your bed and make out.”<br/>
“We could lie on the couch and make out.”<br/>
“Being in your room would give us slightly more time to right clothing if your Dad comes home.”<br/>
“You expecting to get my clothes off, dear?”<br/>
“Maybe not off, but I’m definitely planning on getting your pants undone.”<br/>
“Well, it’s nice to have goals, I suppose.”<br/>
He shakes his head at me and throws me onto my bed before climbing on after me.<br/>
“Veronica, you know you are a giant pain in my ass, right?”<br/>
I smirk as I pull him down towards me and say:<br/>
“Oh, I know.”</p><p>When we hear the front door open I’m gasping against his mouth as he works his fingers in me. He presses hard against my clit and kisses me to swallow my whimper as I come. From the living room we hear Dad say:<br/>
“It’s time for Eli to go home.”<br/>
Eli pulls away from my mouth and says:<br/>
“Okay, Mr. Mars.”<br/>
I quietly whimper as he pulls his fingers away from me and licks them off, then I whisper:<br/>
“I don’t want you to go. I want you.”<br/>
“Imagine how I feel baby. At least you got some relief.”<br/>
“I’m sorry Eli.”<br/>
“Nothing to be sorry about, V. Just means I’ll have to think about you when I get home.”<br/>
“Call me. I’ll talk you through it.”<br/>
“Veronica Mars. Are you suggesting we have phone sex?”<br/>
“It’s either that or locking the door and seeing if you can fuck me before Dad shoots you.”<br/>
“Phone sex it is. Do your pants up.”<br/>
I do up my pants and sit up, fixing my hair as best as I can before we leave the bedroom. </p><p>As we walk through the living room, I say:<br/>
“I’m just going to walk him out.”<br/>
“Just outside the door, Veronica. Not all the way out to the parking lot.”<br/>
“Yes, sir.”<br/>
We walk outside and I close the door behind us before kissing him.<br/>
“I love you.”<br/>
“I love you, V. I’ll talk to you in a bit.”<br/>
I kiss him again and go back inside as he walks away.</p><p>When I close the door behind me, Dad says:<br/>
“Sit down, Veronica.”<br/>
I sit on the couch and say:<br/>
“What’s up, Daddy?”<br/>
“You and Eli seem awfully serious.”<br/>
“We are. I love him.”<br/>
“Does he love you?”<br/>
“Yeah. He does.”<br/>
“And he’s treating you well?”<br/>
“Daddy, you know he is. He would never hurt me.”<br/>
“Well, that I believe. The rules stand though. I don’t want to come home to him in your room again.”<br/>
“Yes, sir.”<br/>
“Go to bed, Veronica.”<br/>
“Goodnight Daddy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A few weeks later Eli and I are cuddled up on the couch watching TV when there’s a knock on the door. I get up and answer it.<br/>	“Logan, what are you doing here?”<br/>	“I need you to find my mom.”<br/>	“Logan…”<br/>	“She’s not dead, Veronica.”<br/>	“Come inside.”<br/>He walks in and says:<br/>	“Why is he here?”<br/>	“Weevil and I are dating, Logan. Have been since September. Why do you think your mom is alive?”<br/>	“There's no body.”<br/>	“She left a note.”<br/>	“She wants us to think she’s dead. Her credit cards were missing. Who jumps off a bridge with their credit cards?”<br/>	“Logan…”<br/>	“If Mom was going to kill herself it would be pills and Chardonnay. She wouldn’t risk her bloated, deformed body being caught in a shrimp net.”<br/>	“What about that woman who says she saw her jump?”<br/>	“Oh yeah, she’s on tv, she must be telling the truth.”<br/>	“Fine. I will look into it, but Logan, I don’t want you getting your hopes up, okay?”<br/>	“Yeah, okay.”<br/>He turns to leave but then says:<br/>	“How come none of us knew you were dating?”<br/>	“We just haven’t gotten around to announcing it. Wallace, Mac, and Felix know.”<br/>	“You need to tell Duncan.”<br/>	“I will.”<br/>	“Before you tell anyone else. He’s going to flip.”<br/>	“Well then, I guess you should keep this to yourself.”<br/>	“Yeah, I guess I should.”<br/>He leaves the apartment and I close and lock the door behind him before going back over to the couch and curling up against Eli.</p>
<p>Eli runs his hand over my hair and says:<br/>	“We do need to tell people.”<br/>	“I know. I just like having this just for us, you know?”<br/>	“Yeah, but we agreed weeks ago that we were going to go public.”<br/>	“I told you, I have no problem going public. I love you. I’ll yell it from the rooftop if that’s what you want.”<br/>	“I don’t think yelling from the rooftops is necessary, but maybe some public interaction?”<br/>	“What do you have in mind?”<br/>	“That stupid 80s dance is coming up. We could go to that.”<br/>	“Really? Weevil at a school dance?”<br/>	“Well, the girl I love likes dances.”<br/>	“We didn’t go to homecoming.”<br/>	“I wasn’t ready to share you yet.”<br/>	“Sappy boy.”<br/>	“Yeah, that’s me. Can we go to bed please?”<br/>	“You’re enjoying this whole ‘dad being away’ thing, aren’t you?”<br/>	“I really love falling asleep with you and waking up next to you.”<br/>	“Don’t let anyone else hear you say that. They’ll think you have a soft side.”<br/>	“I do. For you.”<br/>I kiss him and stand up, holding my hand out for him to take.</p>
<p>A few days later I’m looking at a trophy case at school and I hear his voice behind me:<br/>	“If you’re looking for my trophy, it’s over by auto shop.”<br/>I turn around to look at him and say:<br/>	“You can get trophies for lube jobs? Or was it for stealing hubcaps?”<br/>	“Is this 1970? Rims, baby.”<br/>	“So you got a trophy for a rim job?”<br/>He shakes his head and smiles fondly as he says:<br/>	“Forget it. I have some information for you.”<br/>	“Finally! A deep throat to call my own.”<br/>He audibly swallows and quietly says:<br/>	“Baby…”<br/>I laugh and say:<br/>	“Later, dear. What’s the information?”<br/>	“There’s a kid saying he caught something on tape that’s going to make him millions. Do you want me to find him?”<br/>	“Do you even need to ask?”<br/>	“Right. What was I thinking?”<br/>	“I have no idea.”<br/>I step closer to him, just close enough that I can reach out and run my fingers down his arm as I say:<br/>	“Am I going to see you tonight?”<br/>	“I’m helping Angel at the shop, so probably not. Tomorrow night?”<br/>	“I’m going to a 09er party with Meg.”<br/>	“You are going to a 09er party…with Meg?”<br/>	“She needs my help with something.”<br/>	“Of course she does. Someone always needs your help with something.”<br/>	“Meg is my friend, Eli.”<br/>	“Yeah. Okay.”<br/>He walks away and I stare after him, trying to figure out why he seemed so annoyed. From behind me, a voice says:<br/>	“Hey, Veronica.”<br/>I plaster a smile on my face and turn around.<br/>	“Hey, Mac. What’s up?”<br/>	“Can we talk for a second?”<br/>	“Of course.”<br/>I walk towards her and hook my arm through hers so we can walk to our next class while we talk.<br/>	“So, what’s going on?”<br/>	“Just so you know, I blame you for this.”<br/>	“For what?”<br/>	“I’m dating Felix.”<br/>	“And that’s my fault, how?”<br/>	“I had no reason to interact with Felix before becoming friends with his best friend’s girlfriend.”<br/>	“I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience you’re experiencing dating a cute, sweet biker.”<br/>	“You are terribly snarky.”<br/>	“Are you guys going public?”<br/>	“I was thinking about that and I think we should go public at the same time.”<br/>	“Weevil and I were talking about going to the dance.”<br/>	“You’re dragging poor Weevil to a dance?”<br/>	“It was his idea.”<br/>	“Okay. The dance works, I guess. What the hell am I going to wear?”<br/>	“I don’t know…Hey, Meg and I are going to a party tomorrow night. You should come. We’re trying to find her secret admirer.”<br/>	“Ooh…Fun. Sure.”<br/>	“Fun…yes. We’ll go with that.”</p>
<p>A week later, Mac is at my house to get ready for the dance when Meg comes to the door. I let her in and say:<br/>	“I’m sorry I couldn’t figure out who your admirer was.”<br/>	“It’s fine. I don’t even care anymore. We’ll just go to the dance together. I brought you an outfit.”<br/>	“Oh. I found an outfit at the thrift store.”<br/>	“You’re gonna wear this. Your surprise will love it.”<br/>	“Uh…Meg? What’s the surprise? Is the surprise a person?”<br/>	“Yes. Why?”<br/>	“Meg…I’m dating Weevil.”<br/>	“Since when?”<br/>	“September. We wanted to just keep it to ourselves for a while. He’s meeting us at the dance.”<br/>	“I can’t believe I didn’t know.”<br/>	“Only Wallace, Mac, and Felix knew…Besides my dad and his grandma.”<br/>	“I will call Leo and tell him not to come to the dance.”<br/>	“Probably for the best…Weevil really doesn’t like Leo.”<br/>	“Is it possibly because you flirt with him every time you see him?”<br/>	“Oh, that’s definitely it. If I wasn’t dating Weevil, I’d be interested in Leo. He’s hot and sweet.”<br/>	“You’re still going to wear this outfit.”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am.”<br/>	“Go get dressed, I’ll call Leo and be right in.”<br/>I take the outfit and walk into my room.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Six</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once we’re all dressed Meg is wearing a pink, shiny shift dress with her hair curled, and Mac is wearing a black tank top, black miniskirt, and neon belts and bracelets with her hair teased up so it’s huge. And I feel like Manila Whore Barbie. The outfit Meg brought for me is very much Madonna of the 80s, all black lace and tight.</p>
<p>As we’re walking out the door the fax machine rings. I walk over to it as the other girls leave and find the sketch I got the police sketch artist to make based on the description from the florist. The sketch of Meg’s admirer. It’s Duncan. I put the paper down and pick her corsage up from the counter where she left it. When I go outside I put the corsage on her wrist.<br/>	“Why? Didn’t we decide I didn’t care who my admirer is?”<br/>	“Trust me.”<br/>	“Okay. Let’s go.”</p>
<p>When we walk into the gym at school, Duncan walks up to us and Meg looks at me. I give her a smile and say:<br/>	“Told you so.”<br/>	“Are you okay with this?”<br/>	“So very much. Go. Dance.”</p>
<p>As she walks away Mac wraps her arm around my waist and says:<br/>	“Let’s dance until our guys get here.”<br/>	“Lead the way.”<br/>We dance to a few fast songs and when a slow song comes on we wrap our arms around each other and sway along. About halfway through the song, Felix and Weevil walk up to us and pull us apart. </p>
<p>I turn around in Weevil’s hands and wrap my arms around his neck smiling as I say:<br/>	“Hi, baby.”<br/>	“Who picked out this outfit, V? I need to thank them personally.”<br/>	“Meg. She’s over there, dancing with Duncan if you want to go thank her.”<br/>	“After. Did you notice all the people staring at us?”<br/>	“Well, PCHers at a school dance? Highly unusual.”<br/>	“My love, I’m pretty sure they are staring because you and Mac are dancing with us.”<br/>	“Well then, we should take advantage of this moment. Since we have an audience.”<br/>I pull him closer to me and kiss him, deepening the kiss before pulling away. He rests his forehead on mine and says:<br/>	“Can we go home now?”<br/>	“Coming to the dance was your idea!”<br/>	“I didn’t expect you to be wearing lingerie!”<br/>	“Dad is away…”<br/>	“Home…Please.”<br/>	“Impatient boy.”<br/>He moves his head so his mouth is against my ear and gruffly whispers:<br/>	“If you want to stay, we need to make a trip to the bathroom because I need to be inside you.”<br/>	“We can go home. I just need to say goodbye to Meg and Mac first.”<br/>He sighs and says:<br/>	“Fine. Let’s say goodbye.”<br/>We walk over to where Mac and Felix are dancing and I hug them both goodbye, pausing to whisper in Felix’s ear:<br/>	“I love you Felix, but if you hurt Mac no-one will ever find your body.”<br/>	“Noted.”</p>
<p>When we get over to Duncan and Meg, Weevil says:<br/>	“Hey, Meg…thanks for this…the outfit.”<br/>	“Admittedly, you aren’t the guy I had in mind when I picked it out for her.”<br/>	“What do you mean?”<br/>	“I didn’t know the two of you were dating until I got to Ronnie’s house to get ready. I had invited Leo to meet us here.”<br/>	“When did you meet Leo?”<br/>	“Last week. Before the party. We had to stop so Ronnie could ask Leo for a favour.”<br/>	“So she asked him for a favour and that made you think that he should come to the dance?”<br/>Meg shrugs and says:<br/>	“They have chemistry. I didn’t know about you.”<br/>	“Makes sense.”<br/>Out of the corner of my eye, I can see him clenching his jaw so I say:<br/>	“We’re headed out. Duncan, can you make sure Meg gets home safe?”<br/>Duncan nods and I hug Meg before taking Weevil’s hand and walking out of the gym. </p>
<p>As we step into the parking lot he pulls his hand away from mine and says:<br/>	“How much were you flirting with Leo to make Meg think that you’d want him here?”<br/>	“Eli…I needed a favour.”<br/>	“That doesn’t mean you have to flirt with him.”<br/>	“I was just being nice!”<br/>	“Whatever you say, V.”<br/>	“Please don’t be mad at me. It was just harmless flirting. Nothing would ever happen with him. I love you. As soon as I figured out that Meg invited him I told her about you.”<br/>He leans in and kisses my cheek before saying:<br/>	“Go home, Veronica.”<br/>	“You’re not coming?”<br/>	“No. I need to clear my head.”<br/>	“I’ll leave the spare key outside. Come over after.”<br/>	“Don’t bother. I won’t be coming over.”<br/>	“Eli…Please don’t do this.”<br/>	“I just need time, V. Go home.”<br/>I watch as he walks away from me and then I get in my car and I drive home.</p>
<p>When I get home I am grateful Dad took Backup with him this weekend since without him here I can wallow in peace. I put the spare key outside and shower before changing into pyjamas and laying on my bed with music going.</p>
<p>I lose track of how long I’m wallowing before I hear the front door open, but then I hear Dad’s voice say:<br/>	“Veronica? Are you home?”<br/>	“I’m in here.”<br/>He opens my bedroom door and says:<br/>	“What happened?”<br/>	“I’m wallowing.”<br/>	“Yeah, I got that. What happened?”<br/>	“I think Eli broke up with me.”<br/>	“You think?”<br/>	“He said he needed to clear his head and I haven’t spoken to him since.”<br/>	“He hasn’t called?”<br/>	“No. The only calls I’ve gotten have been breathing.”<br/>	“Have you called him?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>	“No answer?”<br/>	“Nope.”<br/>	“Do you think maybe you should get up and shower?”<br/>	“Nope.”<br/>	“Okay then. I’ll be in the living room if you wish to rejoin the land of the living.”</p>
<p>I must fall asleep shortly after that because the next thing I know Dad is standing in my doorway saying:<br/>	“Veronica, it’s time to get up for school.”<br/>	“I’m sick Daddy. I’m going to stay home.”<br/>He looks at me and sighs before saying:<br/>	“Yeah, okay. I’ll be at the office if you need me.”</p>
<p>This goes on for another three days. Dad trying to get me to go to school in the morning, to eat something in the evening, to leave my room, to shower, anything really, and me refusing everything. Finally, I think he’s given up, but then Wallace walks in.<br/>	“Supafly, you need to get up. You need to shower and get dressed.”<br/>	“Leave me alone. I’m wallowing.”<br/>	“Nope. Get up.”<br/>	“Wallace…just leave me alone.”<br/>	“No. You are Veronica Mars. You are a badass. This is not what you do. Get up, shower, get dressed, have something to eat, get your ass to school and show him that he hasn’t broken you.”<br/>	“But Wallace…”<br/>	“I know Veronica. Get up.”<br/>	“Fine.”<br/>I shoo him out of my room and then follow instructions. When I get out to the kitchen he puts a plate in front of me that has a piece of toast on it.<br/>	“I figured you probably don’t want to eat too much all at once.”<br/>	“Thanks, Wallace.”</p>
<p>The next few weeks are almost normal. If I didn’t feel like my heart had been ripped out of my chest they would have been perfect. I work a few cases, hang out with Wallace, Meg, Mac, and Felix, and focus on my schoolwork. At least, things are almost normal until Duncan disappears.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Seven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Aside from Meg and Logan both asking me if I know where Duncan went or why he left, things are still pretty normal with him gone. Until one day when Wallace comes up to me and says:<br/>	“I got news before a little birdie got it to you.”<br/>	“Well? Are you gonna spill, or do I need to tip you over?”<br/>	“Weevil broke into the Kane house last night. They caught him in Lilly’s bedroom.”<br/>	“What?”<br/>	“Yeah. The Kanes had him arrested.”</p>
<p>After school I head to the sheriff’s station and run into Leo.<br/>	“Veronica Mars. What can I do for you?”<br/>	“I need to see Weevil. Can I?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>	“What did he have on him when he was brought in?”<br/>	“Standard bad boy equipment…change, couple of condoms, a pen.”<br/>	“Thanks, Leo.”<br/>I hand him my bag and he opens the door leading into the holding cell area. Once the door is closed behind me, Weevil says:<br/>	“Did you bring a nail file?”<br/>	“Why did you break into the Kane house?”<br/>	“What better house for some B&amp;E?”<br/>	“Why were you in Lilly’s bedroom?”<br/>	“Does it matter?”<br/>	“Yes. What were you looking for?”<br/>	“Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Are you going to help me or not?”<br/>	“No.”<br/>	“Veronica. The Kanes want me nailed for this, and now that I’m 18…”<br/>	“Goodbye Juvie, hello community soap.”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>	“What were you looking for?”<br/>	“A diamond ring. It was my mom’s. At one point I thought I wanted Lilly to have it.”<br/>	“You’re lying to me.”<br/>	“Veronica…”<br/>I open the door and walk out of the room. </p>
<p>The next day I’m at the office when Celeste Kane walks in.<br/>	“What did you say to Duncan?”<br/>	“What?”<br/>	“Where did he go?”<br/>	“I don’t know.”<br/>	“I don’t believe you. I think you know where he went. I think he left because of you. What did you say?”<br/>	“I’ll tell you what I didn’t tell him. I didn’t tell him his mother threatened to kill me. I didn’t tell him that his mother drove my mother out of town.”<br/>	“I know you think I hate you, Veronica, but I don’t. I just can’t stand to look at you.”<br/>	“I will help find Duncan if you drop the charges against Eli Navarro.”<br/>	“Fine.”</p>
<p>The next day I’m at school, climbing out of the back of a dognapper’s van when I hear:<br/>	“Always getting out of the back of some dude’s van, aren’t you?”<br/>I turn around to face him before saying:<br/>	“You’re out.”<br/>	“It appears so. How many get out of jail free cards do you have anyway?”<br/>	“Just because you aren’t paying the price doesn’t mean it’s free, Eli.”<br/>I turn to walk away and he grabs my wrist.<br/>	“Let me go, Eli.”<br/>	“V, I’m sorry.”<br/>	“For what?”<br/>	“For leaving you alone.”<br/>	“So no apology for lying to me? Okay then. Let me go. I have a case to wrap up and then I have to look for Duncan.”<br/>I pull my arm away from him and walk towards my car. </p>
<p>I’m sitting at the office when Logan comes in asking for my help tracking down his sister’s abusive boyfriend. I make a call and get the guy’s last name before looking him up in the database and finding out he has multiple restraining orders against him. Logan calls his house to talk to his sister but finds out from his dad that the boyfriend is coming over for dinner, so we go over there.</p>
<p>When we get there, Logan’s dad Aaron is beating the boyfriend up. He calmly says hello to us and asks Logan to escort the boyfriend out. We follow the boyfriend through the house to the driveway and after he drives away Logan says:<br/>	“Do you think Lilly loved Weevil?”<br/>	“I don’t know. Lilly never said anything to me about Weevil.”<br/>	“Did he love her?”<br/>	“He says she was someone he could have loved.”<br/>	“What does that mean?”<br/>	“I don’t know, Logan.”<br/>	“Does it bother you that he was with her?”<br/>	“No. It bothers me that she never told me.”<br/>	“She probably thought you’d disapprove.”<br/>	“I probably would have.”<br/>	“When did you two start dating?”<br/>	“We kissed for the first time after the party on the beach. Started dating after I got him out of juvie.”<br/>	“Does he love you?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>	“Do you love him?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>	“But you broke up.”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>	“Are you going to get back together?”<br/>	“I don’t know.”<br/>He leans in and kisses me.<br/>	“What are you doing?”<br/>	“You and Weevil broke up.”<br/>	“I love him, Logan.”<br/>	“You broke up.”<br/>	“I love him.”<br/>	“Yeah, okay. I’ll take you home.”<br/>	“Back to the office? That’s where my car is.”</p>
<p>Once I’m back at the office I get in my car and head off to finish the dognapping case I’m working on. When we’re done at the pound I call Dad and tell him I’ll be home late then I ask Leo what kind of pen Weevil had on him when he was arrested. Leo describes Lilly’s secret message pen…big, pink, plastic.<br/>	“So much for your bad boy.”<br/>	“Thanks Leo.”<br/>I take Wallace home and then find myself parked outside of Weevil’s house. I dial his number and am surprised when he answers.<br/>	“Are you just going to sit outside all night or are you going to come inside?”<br/>	“I wasn’t sure if I was welcome inside.”<br/>	“Get your ass in here, Mars.”</p>
<p>I hang up and walk up to the front door. Before I can knock, Weevil opens the door and grabs me, pulling me inside. He closes the door behind me and presses his forehead against mine.<br/>	“I love you. I’m sorry, Veronica. I’m sorry I left you alone, I’m sorry I lied to you, I’m sorry I dragged you into helping the Kanes.”<br/>	“I’m helping the Kanes because I couldn’t leave you in there. I love you. You don’t need to apologize for that.”<br/>	“Can you stay tonight?”<br/>	“I’d have to lie to Dad.”<br/>	“Then lie to him. Please, baby. I just want to hold you.”<br/>	“We’re broken up…Aren’t we?”<br/>	“God, I hope not. If we are, can we please fix that? I don’t want to be broken up. I want to be with you.”<br/>	“I need you to be honest with me. What were you looking for in Lilly’s room?”<br/>	“Her secret message pen. I had written her a note before she died. I wanted it back.”<br/>	“Was the note in the pen?”<br/>	“No. I couldn’t find it.”<br/>	“Where was the pen?”<br/>	“On the dresser. Why?”<br/>	“Did you check her vent?”<br/>	“Why, pray tell, would I check the vent?”<br/>	“We all hide things in our vents. I need to get into the Kane house.”<br/>	“Not tonight you don’t.”<br/>	“Yeah. Okay.”<br/>	“Stay, Veronica. Please.”</p>
<p>I pull my phone out and dial the home number. <br/>	“Daughter.”<br/>	“We don’t have caller ID, Dad. How’d you know it was me?”<br/>	“Who else would be calling at this time of night?”<br/>	“True. Can I stay at Eli’s? Mrs. Navarro is here.”<br/>	“I appreciate that you didn’t go with your initial instinct of lying to me. Yes, you may. But…I want you both here tomorrow morning for a chat. I have some words I’d like to share with Mr. Navarro.”<br/>	“Yes Daddy.”<br/>	“Goodnight, Veronica.”<br/>	“Night, Daddy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Eight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Canon? Who needs canon? In case you missed it, we've made our sharp left turn away from our sort of canon storyline. Also, can I just say: to hell with Lianne? There will be zero Lianne Mars in this story.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When I hang up I look at Eli and say:<br/>	“Daddy’s mad at you.”<br/>	“I’m not surprised. Can we go to bed?”<br/>	“Yeah…But Eli?”<br/>	“Yeah, love?”<br/>	“You can’t do that to me again. It felt like you had ripped my heart out.”<br/>	“If it makes you feel better, it had the same effect on me.”<br/>I think about it for a second and then say:<br/>	“You know, that does make me feel better.”<br/>	“That’s because you’re cruel.”<br/>	“Entirely possible.”</p>
<p>We walk down the hallway to his room, quietly passing his grandma’s room so we don’t wake her up. When we get to his room I get undressed and he hands me one of his t-shirts to sleep in. As we climb into bed he wraps his arms around me and I rest my head on his chest. <br/>	“I love you, Eli. Please don’t leave me again.”<br/>	“I’m not going anywhere, V. You’re stuck with me.”<br/>	“Good.”<br/>I sit up a bit and kiss him before saying:<br/>	“Think we can be quiet enough to not wake your grandma up?”<br/>	“Doubtful. She’s a very light sleeper and you tend to be loud.”<br/>I kiss him again and then snuggle back down into him with my head back on his chest. He runs his hand over my hair and says:<br/>	“Goodnight, V.”<br/>	“Goodnight, Eli.”</p>
<p>The next morning we have breakfast with his grandma and Felix before leaving to see Dad. When we get to the apartment Dad and Alicia are both there. Dad says:<br/>	“Sit down, both of you.”<br/>We sit on the couch holding hands and Alicia says:<br/>	“We’re concerned about this relationship.”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“Veronica, the two of you broke up and you didn’t leave your bed or eat for a week. We’re concerned that it’s too intense. Or too volatile.”</p>
<p>Eli squeezes my hand and says:<br/>	“You didn’t eat for a week? Why didn’t you call me?”<br/>	“I did. You didn’t answer your phone.”<br/>	“I’m sorry my love.”</p>
<p>Dad clears his throat and says:<br/>	“I don’t know how to fix this. How to not be concerned that the two of you are too attached.”<br/>	“What’s wrong with us being attached, Daddy? That isn’t going to happen again. We’re together. Everything’s fine.”<br/>	“It’s not fine, Veronica.”</p>
<p>Alicia rubs Dad’s back and says:<br/>	“The way I see it is this…there are two options here.”<br/>Eli looks at her and says:<br/>	“And those would be?”<br/>	“The two of you break up ——“<br/>Eli gets mad and loudly says:<br/>	“No fucking way.”<br/>Alicia looks at him sternly and says:<br/>	“Or we lay out some new rules that will be followed to the letter.”</p>
<p>I look at Dad and say:<br/>	“What are the rules?”<br/>He looks at Alicia and she says:<br/>	“The two of you are not to be alone. There will be no more sleepovers, regardless of parental supervision. When Keith has to leave town, Veronica, you will be staying at my house with the boys and me. All physical contact will be rated PG at most. Wallace knows he is no longer allowed to provide you with excuse slips from the office since we know you’ve been using them to rendezvous at school.”<br/>	“What? We can’t be trusted to regulate our own relationship?”<br/>	“No. You can’t. You are children playing at being adults and it almost broke you, Veronica. I won’t allow that to happen again.”<br/>	“You’re not my mother. Why am I even listening to you?”</p>
<p>Dad looks at me, shocked, and says:<br/>	“Veronica!”<br/>Alicia waves her hand at him and says:<br/>	“It’s fine, Keith. You’re right, Veronica. I’m not your mother. But I love you, and I’m here.”<br/>	“I’m sorry, Alicia. I love you too, but…”<br/>	“I just want to protect you, Veronica. Let me. Please.”<br/>Eli squeezes my hand and says:<br/>	“These rules don’t seem unreasonable, babe. I think we should follow them.”<br/>	“Eli…They want to make it so we’re never alone. They don’t trust us to be in control of our own relationship.”<br/>	“V…babe, I lost my shit because you talked to Leo. I left you alone, I didn’t answer the phone, I didn’t check on you, and you didn’t leave your bed or eat for a week. I think some rules and regulation might be good things for us.”<br/>	“But…”<br/>He leans over and presses his forehead against the side of my head and quietly says:<br/>	“I am not going anywhere. I love you. We play by the rules until we graduate and can move out. Everything will be okay.”</p>
<p>Dad clears his throat and says:<br/>	“Thank you for being reasonable about this, Eli. We do have something else we have to talk about now.”<br/>I look at him and say:<br/>	“Like what?”<br/>He turns his head and loudly says:<br/>	“Wallace, Darrell, you can come out now.”<br/>The boys walk out of my room and sit on the couch with us. Wallace looks at us and says:<br/>	“Back together I see.”<br/>	“Yeah. We are.”<br/>Wallace leans around me and quietly says:<br/>	“If you hurt my sister again I’ll kill you.”<br/>Eli nods and says:<br/>	“Noted.”</p>
<p>Dad and Alicia hold hands and say:<br/>	“We’re moving in together.”<br/>Wallace and I both say in unison:<br/>	“What?!”<br/>Alicia laughs and says:<br/>	“I think you heard us just fine.”<br/>I say:<br/>	“I assume we’d be moving in with them.”<br/>	“Obviously, number one daughter.”<br/>	“When?”<br/>	“When school lets out for the summer.”<br/>	“Wallace and I don’t have to share a room, do we?”<br/>Dad and Alicia both laugh and Alicia says:<br/>	“No. You get your own room. Wallace is going to move into the garage apartment.”<br/>	“Excuse me? Why does Wallace get the apartment? I’m older. I should get it.”<br/>	“You can’t be trusted to not have your boyfriend over.”<br/>	“That’s probably accurate.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Nine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One morning a few weeks later while working a case I find out that Logan was the one who had GHB the night I was drugged and raped. Finding this out makes me nauseous…thinking that someone I used to trust, used to love, could be the one who drugged me and raped me…I couldn’t handle it and I left school, heading home.</p>
<p>I had been home for a couple of hours when Eli calls me.<br/>	“Hi.”<br/>	“Where are you, V?”<br/>	“Home.”<br/>	“Are you sick?”<br/>	“Not really. I just couldn’t cope with being at school.”<br/>	“What happened?”<br/>I start to cry and Eli says:<br/>	“Veronica. What happened?”<br/>	“I found out that Logan is the one who had GHB the night I was drugged and raped.”<br/>	“What?!”<br/>	“Eli…breathe. Don’t get involved. Please.”<br/>	“I’ll come over later, okay?”<br/>	“Yeah. Don’t go after Logan, Eli. Please.”<br/>	“I’ll see you later, V.”<br/>	“Eli ——“<br/>He hangs up and I stare at the phone for a minute before putting it down and muttering:<br/>	“Well, shit.”</p>
<p>An hour later there’s a knock on the door and when I answer it, a bruised and bloody Logan is standing there.<br/>	“Your boyfriend is insane.”<br/>	“You want my sympathy? My sympathy?”<br/>	“Ronnie…I had GHB, but I didn’t give it to you.”<br/>	“Who else had GHB?”<br/>	“Veronica…It was over a year ago. You had an embarrassing night and you can’t remember it. Let it go.”<br/>	“Logan. I was drugged and raped. Someone took my virginity that night. Who else had GHB?”<br/>	“You were raped? Veronica…I didn’t know.”<br/>	“Who else had GHB?”<br/>	“Luke and Sean.”<br/>Before I can respond to him, Eli walks up and yanks him back by his collar. As Logan falls to the ground Eli says:<br/>	“I told you to stay away from Veronica. Was I not clear?”<br/>	“Eat a dick, Weevil.”<br/>Eli kicks Logan in the side and says:<br/>	“You okay, V?”<br/>	“Yeah. He told me who else had GHB the night of the party. Let him go, Eli.”<br/>Eli walks over to me and puts his hand on my cheek as Logan gets off the ground. He looks at us and says:<br/>	“Veronica, I still can’t believe you are with him. He’s not good enough for you.”<br/>	“Go home, Logan.”</p>
<p>Eli and I walk into the apartment and close the door behind us before sitting on the couch curled together.<br/>	“Who else had GHB, V?”<br/>	“Luke and Sean.”<br/>	“Want me to talk to them?”<br/>	“Can you do it without using violence?”<br/>	“Yeah. If I have to.”<br/>	“Please talk to them. I’ll talk to other people at the party to see if they can remember what happened.”<br/>	“Want me to go do that now?”<br/>	“No. I need you. Please.”<br/>	“Baby, that violates so many rules.”<br/>	“We’re already breaking the rules. Please, Eli. I just…I need to feel your hands on me. I need to feel loved. Please.”<br/>He stands up and picks me up off the couch, carrying me to my bedroom before closing the door behind us and putting me down on my bed. </p>
<p>As we’re getting dressed again he says:<br/>	“I’ll go talk to those idiots now.”<br/>	“Talk, Eli. Just talk.”<br/>	“I promise I won’t hit them unless they give me cause to.”<br/>	“If they point you towards someone else, come to me before anything else, okay?”<br/>	“Yeah. You going to go over to Alicia’s now? Since your dad is out of town and you were supposed to be there the whole time?”<br/>	“Yes. I’m going over there now.”<br/>We walk out of the apartment together and when we get to my car he kisses me before saying:<br/>	“I love you. You know that, right?”<br/>	“Yeah. I know. For a tough guy, you’re awfully liberal with the declarations of love.”<br/>	“And you love me too?”<br/>	“And so insecure. Yes, I love you.”<br/>I kiss him and get in my car before heading to Alicia’s.</p>
<p>Once I let myself into Alicia’s house, I lie down on the couch and stare at the ceiling, thinking. I’m still lying there when Wallace gets home from school.<br/>	“Sit up, Supafly.”<br/>I sit up and Wallace flops down on the couch next to me before I lean over and rest my head on his shoulder.<br/>	“You want to tell me why Eli is picking fights with 09ers today?”<br/>	“Multiple 09ers?”<br/>	“Well, he beat the shit out of Logan earlier and when I left school he was whaling on Dick.”<br/>I take a deep breath and say:<br/>	“You can’t tell the parents, okay?”<br/>	“I am your little brother and best friend, Veronica. You can trust me.”<br/>	“Last year Shelly Pomeroy had a party. It wasn’t long after Logan had exiled me from 09er society, and I wanted to prove to them…to him, that they hadn’t broken me. So I went. I ended up getting drugged and raped. This morning I found out that Logan had GHB that night. After Eli beat him up, Logan told me Luke and Sean had some too. I’m assuming that one of them gave theirs to Dick, hence Eli beating him up.”<br/>	“Why didn’t you tell me?”<br/>	“Why? So you could get suspended from school with Eli? Arrested for assault?”<br/>	“Well, I am younger than him. No community soap.”</p>
<p>There’s a knock on the door, so Wallace gets up to answer it. When he opens the door, Eli walks in with a slightly worse-for-wear Dick and says:<br/>	“Speak, Casablancas. Tell Veronica what you told me.”<br/>Dick sits down on the coffee table and says:<br/>	“I didn’t drug you, Ronnie.”<br/>	“Then who did?”<br/>	“I don’t know.”<br/>	“What do you know?”<br/>	“Beaver and I found you in the guest room. You were passed out. I told him he should have sex with you because he has no luck with sober ladies.”<br/>	“And then what?”<br/>	“I left you with him.”<br/>	“Dick…did your brother rape me?”<br/>	“He told me the next day that he wasn’t a virgin anymore. When I asked if it was with you, he said no. I don’t know, Ronnie.”<br/>	“I’m going to give you two days to find out if he raped me or not. After that, I’m going to let Weevil at him.”<br/>	“Yeah…Okay.”<br/>	“And Dick…if someone asks what happened to you…”<br/>	“Surfing accident. I got it.”<br/>	“Good boy. Now get out.”</p>
<p>As he leaves the house I stand up and run to the bathroom, kneeling by the toilet as I start to throw up. Afterwards, I rinse out my mouth and wash my hands before walking back to the living room. When I get there, Wallace hands me a ginger ale and some crackers.<br/>	“Thanks, Papa Bear.”<br/>	“You want to talk about it?”<br/>	“About the fact that it’s possible that Cassidy Casablancas is the one who raped me? Nope. Don’t want to talk about that.”<br/>	“Wanna watch a movie? I can play chaperone for the two of you.”<br/>	“Yeah. You pick.”</p>
<p>While Wallace is picking a movie I sit on the couch with Eli, curled up next to him, and open my ginger ale. He quietly says:<br/>	“You nauseous because of the thought of Beaver touching you or is there something I should know?”<br/>	“Just Beaver, I think.”<br/>	“That’s less certain that I usually expect from you, V.”<br/>	“Yeah, well…It’s been a long few days. I don’t feel certain about much right now…Except for how at home I feel here, and how much I love you.”<br/>He kisses the side of my head as Wallace sits down and presses play on the action movie he chose.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Ten</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>By the time the movie is over, Alicia is home, so Eli kisses me and leaves. After he walks out, Wallace goes to his room to do homework and Alicia comes into the living room. She looks at me with concern and says:<br/>	“Veronica? Sweetheart? Are you okay? You look pale.”<br/>	“I’m just tired and kind of nauseous.”<br/>	“Why don’t you go on to bed and I’ll bring you some toast in a bit?”<br/>	“Okay. Thanks, Alicia.”<br/>I go shower and climb into bed. When I get woken up a while later by a knock on the door, it’s Alicia with toast. She comes into the room and sits on the edge of the bed.<br/>	“Veronica, I’m just going to ask, because it needs to be asked…are you pregnant?”<br/>	“I’m pretty sure I’m just sick, but thanks for jumping to that conclusion.”<br/>	“Pretty sure?”<br/>	“I mean, it’s possible. Eli and I have been having sex since September. It’s possible my birth control failed.”<br/>	“No condoms?”<br/>	“Not in the past few months.”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“Didn’t have one once…then we decided we liked it better without. I know that’s not the brightest decision to make.”<br/>	“I have a test. Hang on. I’ll go get it.”</p>
<p>She leaves the room and comes back with a test. As she hands it to me she says:<br/>	“Go take this then bring it back here and I’ll wait with you.”<br/>I do as she says and when I come back into the bedroom I sit on the bed next to her, holding her hand until it’s time to check the test. <br/>	“I can’t look, Alicia.”<br/>	“Okay, sweetheart.”<br/>She picks up the test and sighs before saying:<br/>	“We should call your Dad.”<br/>	“Can we wait until he’s home?”<br/>	“Sure. I’ll call the doctor and make you an appointment for tomorrow, okay?”<br/>	“Okay. I should call Eli.”<br/>	“Yes, you should. He can come over if you want. I’ll allow you to be alone. If you’re going to go through with this we’ll have to rethink the rules.”</p>
<p>As she leaves the room I dial Eli’s number.<br/>	“Hi, baby.”<br/>	“Can you come back over?”<br/>	“Yeah. I’ll be right there.”<br/>I hang up and curl up on the bed, holding the pregnancy test, until Eli walks in and closes the door behind him. <br/>	“What’s wrong, V?”<br/>I hand him the test and as he looks at it he sits on the edge of the bed.<br/>	“Well, shit.”<br/>	“Very eloquently put, dear. What do we do?”<br/>	“What do you want to do?”<br/>	“I don’t know, Eli. It’s like I can’t think clearly right now. I need you to decide. Tell me what we should do.”<br/>	“I can’t do that baby.”<br/>	“Why not?”<br/>	“Because I don’t want you to grow to resent me. And any choice I convince you to make could cause that if it’s not completely your choice. Keeping the baby? You’ll resent that I took your future from you. Put the baby up for adoption? You’ll resent that I made you give away our child. Having an abortion? You’ll resent me for killing the baby. We need to talk this over together. Us, your parents, and my grandma. This isn’t a decision we can make lightly.”<br/>	“Shall we go to Spain and talk it over while waiting for a train? I hear the hills in the Ebro resemble white elephants.”</p>
<p>He just stares at me for a minute and then laughs, saying:<br/>	“Did you just reference Hemingway at me?”<br/>	“Did you just recognize a Hemingway reference? I’m so proud.”<br/>	“I’ll have you know, I haven’t missed an English class all year. You must be a good influence.”<br/>	“Clearly not, since I’m currently knocked up.”<br/>	“Valid point. You are a troublemaker.”<br/>	“I love you.”<br/>	“I love you. Can I lay down with you?”<br/>	“Please.”<br/>He puts the test down on the bedside table and lays down behind me, curling around me with his hand on my stomach. As we lie there he quietly says:<br/>	“Without thinking about it, what’s your first thought? What do you want to do?”<br/>	“I want to keep the baby.”<br/>	“Me too. So, what do we do?”<br/>	“Alicia’s making me a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow. Then when Dad gets home we need to tell him and hope he doesn’t kill you.”<br/>	“He might.”<br/>	“He might.”</p>
<p>We’re both quiet for a minute and then I say:<br/>	“Eli…”<br/>	“Yeah, V?”<br/>	“I need you to quit the PCHers.”<br/>	“Yeah. I know.”<br/>	“You should get Felix out too…I know Mac would appreciate it.”<br/>	“I’ll talk to him and Thumper about Thumper taking over.”<br/>	“Can you do that? Just hand over the club?”<br/>	“If Thumper and Hector are reasonable? Yeah.”<br/>	“If they aren’t?”<br/>	“They’ll jump me out. It’s just a beating, babe.”<br/>	“I don’t like that.”<br/>	“You’ll like it a lot more than me going to prison.”<br/>	“Yes. This is true.”</p>
<p>We’re lying there quietly a few minutes later when Alicia opens the door and says:<br/>	“Veronica, sweetheart, your Dad’s home. We should talk about this now.”<br/>	“Yeah. Okay. We’ll be right there.”<br/>I pick up my phone and dial Duncan’s number.<br/>	“Veronica?”<br/>	“I hear you’re back.”<br/>	“Yeah, well…Your Dad is good at his job.”<br/>	“That he is. Can you do me a favour?”<br/>	“Sure.”<br/>	“Can you check the air vent in Lilly’s room?”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“Because it was never checked, and maybe there’s a clue there.”<br/>	“Want me to bring whatever I find to school tomorrow?”<br/>	“Yeah. Please.”<br/>	“Okay. I’ll text you after I look.”<br/>	“Thanks, Duncan.”<br/>I hang up and say:<br/>	“Should we go face Dad?”<br/>	“Yeah. Let’s go.”</p>
<p>We get up and walk into the living room holding hands. Dad and Alicia are sitting on the couch as I say:<br/>	“Dad, we need to talk.”<br/>	“Oh, I don’t like the sounds of that.”<br/>	“I’m just gonna spit it out, no sense beating around the bush.”<br/>	“I appreciate that.”<br/>	“I’m pregnant.”<br/>	“You’re what?”<br/>Alicia says:<br/>	“Keith, you heard her just fine.”<br/>Dad takes a deep breath and says:<br/>	“When?”<br/>	“Probably after we got back together. I don’t think I remembered to take my pill every day during my week of not leaving my bed.”<br/>	“We had rules in place, Veronica.”<br/>	“Yeah. We ignored them…well, we found times we could be alone at school without needing tardy slips.”<br/>	“So what are you planning on doing?”<br/>	“I want to keep the baby.”<br/>Dad takes another deep breath and says:<br/>	“Okay. How does that work?”<br/>	“I don’t know yet. Alicia made me a doctor’s appointment for tomorrow. I guess, after that, we figure it out?”<br/>	“As a family?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>Dad nods and says:<br/>	“Eli? What are you thinking?”<br/>	“I’m thinking that I love Veronica and that I want to raise our child with her.”<br/>	“Good answer, son. Now, what about the PCHers?”<br/>	“I’m going to quit. I just need to talk to the guys about someone taking over.”<br/>	“And what are you going to do for work?”<br/>	“I’ll work at my uncle’s shop for now.”<br/>	“You mean his chop shop?”<br/>	“Yeah well…”<br/>	“We’ll figure something out.”</p>
<p>My phone starts ringing then, so I answer it.<br/>	“Duncan?”<br/>	“There were tapes in her vent.”<br/>	“Did you watch them?”<br/>	“Yeah…Veronica, she was having sex with Mr. Echolls.”<br/>	“She was what?!”	“The tapes show her having sex with Mr. Echolls.”<br/>	“You need to get them to Lamb. Now, Duncan.”<br/>	“I already called him. He’s on his way.”<br/>	“Good.”<br/>I hang up and squeeze Eli’s hand before saying:<br/>	“Lilly was sleeping with Aaron Echolls before she died. Duncan found tapes.”<br/>Dad says:<br/>	“Did he call Lamb?”<br/>	“Yeah.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For anyone concerned that the parents aren't more worried about this teen pregnancy, don't worry...Letty Navarro finds out next chapter and responds in exactly the manner you think that wonderful woman would. 😉</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Eleven</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dad stands up and says:<br/>	“I should go see Lamb. We will talk about this with Letty tomorrow after your doctor’s appointment.”<br/>	“Okay. Can Eli stay?”<br/>	“I suppose there’s not really any point in keeping the two of you apart now, so I suppose, yes. Are you staying here tonight?”<br/>	“I’d like to…I feel at home here. Can we move in sooner than the summer?”<br/>Alicia clears her throat and says:<br/>	“Of course you can, Veronica. We should tell your brothers about the baby though.”<br/>	“Yeah. Can I tell Wallace myself?”<br/>	“That would probably be for the best.”</p>
<p>Eli squeezes my hand and says:	<br/>“I should go talk to Felix and Thumper.”<br/>	“Tonight?”<br/>	“Baby, the sooner I deal with it, the sooner I’m out.”<br/>	“But…”<br/>	“I’ll be okay.”<br/>	“You promise?”<br/>	“I promise. I’ll come back after, okay?”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>Alicia stands up and says:<br/>	“Hang on, Eli. I’ll get you a key. You come back no matter the time, okay?”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”<br/>She walks into the kitchen and then comes back and hands him a key. He kisses my cheek and says:<br/>	“I’ll be back later, V.”<br/>	“Yeah, okay. I love you.”<br/>	“I love you.”<br/>He and Dad both walk out of the house and Alicia wraps her arm around my shoulders.<br/>	“He’ll be okay, Veronica.”<br/>	“There’s a possibility they won’t just let him quit, that they’ll jump him out…Beat him up.”<br/>	“He can handle himself. You know that.”<br/>	“Yeah. I know. I’m going to go talk to Wallace now.”<br/>	“Sure. Just so you know, your appointment is first thing in the morning. Do you want me to take you?”<br/>	“Would you?”<br/>	“Of course, sweetheart.”<br/>	“Yeah…I’d like that. Thanks, Alicia.”</p>
<p>I walk out of the room and go to Wallace’s room, knocking on the door before opening it. Wallace is lying on his bed and he says:<br/>	“Hey, Supafly. You feeling better?”<br/>	“Nope.”<br/>I walk over to his bed and flop down beside him.<br/>	“I’m not sick, Wallace.”<br/>	“What’s wrong then?”<br/>I take a deep breath and say:<br/>	“I’m pregnant.”<br/>	“Well, shit. Did you tell the parents?”<br/>	“Yeah…they have been unexpectedly chill. I’m kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop.”<br/>	“And Weevil?”<br/>	“Wants to keep the baby. He just left to get out of the PCHers.”<br/>	“Seriously?”<br/>	“Yeah. I told him I needed him out.”<br/>	“What about you, Veronica?”<br/>	“I want the baby.”<br/>	“School’s gonna be tough while pregnant. You know Logan’s gonna have a field day with that.”<br/>	“Yeah…I know. I’ll just have to deal I guess.”<br/>	“You know I’m here for you, right? Like, for anything. Company at appointments, ice cream and pickles in the middle of the night, or just someone to talk to.”<br/>	“I know. Thanks, Papa Bear.”<br/>We lie there quietly for a while until I start yawning. <br/>	“I think I need to go to bed.”<br/>	“Yeah, I hear growing a person is exhausting.”<br/>	“I don’t want anyone outside of the family to know yet…”<br/>	“Who am I gonna tell, Supafly?”<br/>I smile at him and kiss his cheek before getting up and going back to my room.</p>
<p>When I wake up in the morning, Eli isn’t in bed so I get up and walk through the house to the front door. His motorcycle isn’t in the driveway, so I dial his number to see where he is. When he doesn’t answer, I leave a message:<br/>	“You never came back last night. Are you okay? Call me, please.”</p>
<p>I’m still looking out the window when Alicia comes in and says:<br/>	“Go get ready, Veronica. We need to get going to your appointment.”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am.”<br/>I go get ready and we head to the doctor’s office. While we’re waiting in the lobby, I call Eli again. When he doesn’t answer I leave another message asking him to call me.<br/>	“What’s wrong, Veronica?”<br/>	“Eli never came back last night and now he’s not answering his phone.”<br/>	“I’m sure everything’s fine, sweetheart. He probably just went home.”<br/>	“I don’t know, Alicia. It feels like something’s wrong.”<br/>She wraps her arm around my shoulders and kisses the side of my head.<br/>	“Just breathe, kiddo.”</p>
<p>We get called in and by the time we leave, the doctor has confirmed the pregnancy and told me that I’m about 4 weeks along. As we leave the doctor’s office, I dial Felix’s number.<br/>	“Hello?”<br/>	“Felix, it’s Veronica. Have you seen Weevil since last night?”<br/>	“I would have called you, but I didn’t have your number.”<br/>	“What happened? Is he okay?”<br/>	“He’s in the hospital, V. Abuelita is with him.”<br/>	“How bad is it, Felix?”<br/>	“He’s in the ICU, Veronica. Abuelita put you on the visitor’s list.”	<br/>	“Felix, how bad is it?”<br/>	“You should go to the hospital, Veronica.”<br/>	“Okay. I’ll go there now…Felix, did Thumper let you guys out?”<br/>	“Yeah, we’re out. Weevil insisted on taking my beating for me. He made me leave, Veronica.”<br/>	“It’s okay, Felix.”<br/>	“V…Weevil told me about the baby. Anything you need, I’m here for you. You know that right?”<br/>	“Yeah, I know…Thanks, Felix.”<br/>I hang up and say:<br/>	“Can you take me to the hospital?”<br/>Alicia says:<br/>	“What happened?”<br/>	“Eli’s in the ICU. Felix wouldn’t tell me more than that.”<br/>	“Well, let’s go.”</p>
<p>When we get to the hospital, she comes in with me and puts her hand on my back as we walk up to the ICU. The nurse at the desk tells us what room Eli is in and we head in that direction. When we walk into the room I see Eli lying in the bed, hooked up to monitors and a ventilator. I gasp and Alicia wraps her arms around me as Letty turns around and says:<br/>	“Oh, Veronica, mi querida niña.” (My dear girl.)</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Twelve</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Letty…Is he…?”<br/>	“He’s in a medically induced coma. He has swelling in his brain due to the beating he took.”<br/>	“Have they said anything about how long he’ll be in the coma?”<br/>	“Until the swelling goes down. Come here my darling.”</p>
<p>Alicia rubs my back as she lets me go and says:<br/>	“I have to go to work. Are you staying here today?”<br/>	“Yes.”<br/>	“I will call the school and excuse your absence. I’ll get Wallace to pick you up later.”<br/>	“Thanks…Mom.”<br/>She smiles and kisses my cheek.<br/>	“Call me if you need me.”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>Alicia leaves and I walk over to Letty. I wrap my arm around her waist and say:<br/>	“This is my fault.”<br/>	“How?”<br/>	“I asked him to get out of the club.”<br/>	“This is not your fault, Veronica.”</p>
<p>From behind us, I hear:<br/>	“Not a word, Veronica.”<br/>I turn around and am practically nose to nose with Thumper.<br/>	“You did this. Was it necessary? Why couldn’t you just let him out?”<br/>	“It wouldn’t have been this bad, but he insisted on taking Felix’s beating too. The cops are on their way up. You say anything about who did this to him or why and Felix won’t survive the night. You understand me?”<br/>	“Yes. I understand you.”<br/>	“Good. Congratulations on the baby, by the way. Hopefully, Daddy survives long enough to meet it.”<br/>I sharply inhale and say:<br/>	“God, I hate you. Get out.”<br/>He runs a finger along my jaw as he says:<br/>	“Remember, not a word.”<br/>	“Yeah. I got it. I’m the smart one in this conversation, remember?”<br/>	“Tone down the snark too. You wouldn’t want me to get too annoyed at you. You never know what might happen.”</p>
<p>I feel Letty wrap her arm around my waist as she says:<br/>	“Thumper, leave. Now.”<br/>	“Yeah, fine.”<br/>He walks out and Letty turns me so I’m facing her before she says:<br/>	“You’re pregnant?”<br/>I nod and start crying.<br/>	“We were going to tell you today.”<br/>	“What’s your plan?”<br/>	“We don’t know. We never got a chance to talk about it. He left and never came back.”<br/>She puts her hand on my cheek and says:<br/>	“Veronica, I love you and I will love that child, but I am telling you right now, I am not raising my great-grandchild. I’m still raising grandkids.”<br/>	“I know. We are going to raise the baby.”<br/>	“I will, however, be happy to babysit while the two of you are in school or working.”<br/>	“Thank you, Letty.”<br/>	“Call me Abuelita. I mean, you will be marrying my grandson eventually.”<br/>	“Will I? We hadn’t talked about that.”<br/>	“Well, I suppose that can be an argument for another day after Eli wakes up.”</p>
<p>I hear a man clear his throat in the doorway and then Lamb says:<br/>	“I hate to break up this tender moment, Veronica, but we need to talk.”<br/>	“So talk.”<br/>	“In the hall?”<br/>	“I’m not leaving Eli, so if you want to talk, talk.”<br/>	“What happened?”<br/>	“I don’t know. He went out last night and never came home. I didn’t know he was here until I talked to Felix.”<br/>	“Felix claims he doesn’t know how this happened either. Tell me the truth.”<br/>	“I am. I don’t know. You’re the sheriff. Figure it out.”<br/>He just stares at me and sighs.<br/>	“Veronica, the father of your unborn baby is in a coma. Help me solve this.”<br/>	“I can’t, Don. I can’t tell you anything.”<br/>	“So it’s not that you don’t know.”<br/>	“Don…I can’t.”<br/>	“Well, what do I do then?”<br/>	“Exactly what you always do. Ignore the crime.”<br/>	“Veronica.”<br/>	“Don…They will kill Felix. I can’t.”<br/>	“Fine. I will ignore it. I will leave it as an open case though. Come to me when you can.”<br/>	“Thank you.”<br/>He turns to walk away but then turns back around and says:<br/>	“Congratulations about the baby, Ronnie. I hope Navarro recovers.”<br/>	“Thanks, deputy.”</p>
<p>After he leaves, Letty says:<br/>	“Are you okay here with Eli on your own sweetheart? I have to be home with the kids.”<br/>	“Yeah, Abuelita. I’m okay.”<br/>She kisses my cheek and says:<br/>	“I’ll be back later, okay?”<br/>	“Okay.”</p>
<p>She leaves and I walk over to the chair next to Eli’s bed, pulling it close before sitting down and taking his hand in mine.<br/>	“Eli, baby, I need you to be okay. I need you to wake up. I can’t do this on my own. I understand why you wanted to protect Felix, but Eli…I need you. Fight, baby. Don’t leave me.”</p>
<p>I sit with him all day, alternating between just sitting quietly and talking to him. By the time Wallace gets there, I’m starving. He walks into the room and hands me a sandwich.<br/>	“Are you psychic?”<br/>	“No. I just know you and I figured you wouldn’t have left his side all day. Eat.”</p>
<p>As I eat my sandwich he says:<br/>	“What does the doctor say?”<br/>	“That he has swelling in his brain and we don’t know how long he’ll be in the coma.”<br/>He walks over so he’s behind me and puts his hands on my shoulders.<br/>	“He’ll pull through, Veronica. He’s tough and there’s no way in hell he’d leave you and the parasite.”<br/>	“That’s what you’re calling your niece or nephew? Parasite?”<br/>	“That’s what it is at this stage.”<br/>	“I can’t do this by myself, Wallace.”<br/>	“You’re not by yourself. You have Mom and Keith, Darrell, me, Mac, Felix, and Letty. You are not alone. We are not going to let you go through this alone.”</p>
<p>I start crying and say:<br/>	“I need Eli.”<br/>	“I know. I’m sorry, Veronica. I have to tell you something though.”<br/>	“What?”<br/>	“Mac and I were talking, I guess Felix told her about the baby, but Dick overheard us.”<br/>	“Great.”<br/>	“He asked how he can help. He said you can call him day or night. He wants to be here for you.”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask him that.”</p>
<p>As I finish my sandwich, Letty walks in with Felix. I stand up and wrap my arms around him when he starts crying.<br/>	“Felix, breathe. He’s going to be fine.”<br/>	“We don’t know that.”<br/>	“I know, but we have to believe it, okay?”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>He puts his hand on my stomach and says:<br/>	“How far along are you?”<br/>	“Like 4 weeks. Not far along at all.”<br/>	“Mac and I are here for you, whatever you need.”<br/>	“Thanks, Uncle Felix.”<br/>	“I get to be Uncle?”<br/>	“You’re practically Eli’s brother, so…yeah?”<br/>He kisses my forehead and says:<br/>	“I’ll stay here with Weevil and Abuelita. Wallace, take V home so she can get some rest.”<br/>	“I won’t be able to sleep.”<br/>	“Mac is waiting for you at Alicia’s. She’s going to stay with you tonight so you don’t have to sleep alone.”<br/>	“Okay.”</p>
<p>I let go of Felix and lean over Eli, kissing him on the cheek before whispering:<br/>	“Come back to me, baby.”<br/>I hug Letty and say:<br/>	“I’ll be back in the morning.”<br/>	“No, you won’t. You will be at school tomorrow. You cannot be here all day every day. That’s not what Eli would want and it’s not what your parents and I will allow. You may come after school tomorrow.”<br/>	“But, Abuelita…”<br/>	“He is in a coma, Veronica. The doctors will call us, both of us, with any change in his condition.”<br/>	“Yeah…okay.”<br/>Wallace wraps his arm around my shoulders and says:<br/>	“Let’s go home, sister.”</p>
<p>When we get home Mac, Meg, Duncan, Logan, and Dick are all sitting in the living room.<br/>	“What the hell is this?”<br/>Duncan stands up and wraps me in a hug.<br/>	“This is support from your friends. I know we’ve kind of sucked, but we love you, Veronica. We’re here for you.”<br/>	“So you all know?”<br/>	“That you’re pregnant? Yeah.”<br/>	“I don’t want everyone to know yet. Can we keep it just amongst us?”<br/>	“Yeah. What can we do to help?”<br/>	“Nothing…I’m not far enough along to need a bunch due to the pregnancy. I’m just worried about Eli.”</p>
<p>Duncan lets me go and Dick stands up and walks over to me. He doesn’t touch me as he says:<br/>	“It was Cassidy. I’m so sorry, Veronica. I never thought he would actually rape you.”<br/>	“Thank you for finding out, Dick.”<br/>	“He’s going to live with Mom, so he won’t be here anymore. Unless you want to go to the sheriff.”<br/>	“No. Let him leave. I’m okay. Really.”<br/>	“I’m sorry we didn’t protect you that night. I’m sorry I made it worse by pouring shots down your throat and encouraging Cassidy to…I’m sorry, Ronnie.”<br/>I reach for his hand and take it in mine, squeezing slightly.<br/>	“We’re okay, Dick. I don’t blame you.”</p>
<p>Meg says:<br/>	“Let’s watch a movie, okay?”<br/>	“Yeah. Okay.”<br/>I walk over and sit on the couch next to her, curling up against her while Wallace sits next to me. Everyone else settles around us and Logan starts a movie before sitting on the floor in front of me and leaning back, resting his head on my knee.<br/>	“When Harry Met Sally, Logan? Really?”<br/>	“I thought you could use a happy movie.”<br/>	“This makes me cry, but everything has been making me cry today, so…”</p>
<p>Part-way through the movie, Meg puts her mouth against my ear and whispers:<br/>	“I’m pregnant too.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Thirteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I promise little to no more medical crap after this chapter. I know nothing...🤣</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>For the next two weeks, I go to school every day then to the hospital after. I stay with Eli, holding his hand until someone, usually Wallace or Felix, comes to drag me away. </p>
<p>When the school year is over Dad decides I need to get a normal job, something safer than following around cheating spouses, at least while I’m pregnant, so I get a job at Java the Hut, a coffee shop in town. Aside from work shifts and doctor’s appointments I practically live at the hospital all summer. Dick shows up at Java the Hut so much my boss starts referring to him as my boyfriend and I have to explain that he’s not, he’s just suddenly become extremely overprotective. </p>
<p>In September when school starts again I keep my job at Java the Hut for a while, but between school, visiting Eli, helping Dad with the phones and files at Mars Investigations, doctor’s appointments, and shifts at Java the Hut, it’s just too much, so I quit at the beginning of October. </p>
<p>One day about a week before the homecoming dance I’m sitting at the hospital, curled up in the chair next to Eli’s bed, reading to him, when Meg walks in.<br/>	“Sorry for interrupting. I can come back later.”<br/>	“No, Meg. You’re fine. The doctors aren’t even sure if he can hear me. Reading to him just makes me feel better. What’s up?”<br/>	“I need your help.”<br/>	“Sit down.”<br/>	“On the bed?”<br/>	“Eli won’t mind, I promise.”</p>
<p>She perches on the edge of the bed and rests her hand on Eli’s chest for a moment as she says:<br/>	“Wake up, Eli. Veronica needs you.”<br/>	“What do you need help with?”<br/>	“I need to prove to child protective services that my parents are abusing my little sister.”<br/>	“Take pictures of any injuries.”<br/>	“They aren’t…hurting her. And it isn’t sexual. The best way I can explain it is to show you. Can you come over Sunday night? Bring your camera?”<br/>	“Yeah. Of course.”<br/>	“Thanks, Ronnie. Are you feeling any kicking yet?”<br/>	“Sometimes. Only when I’m sitting quietly or lying down though. You?”<br/>	“All the time. Have you found out if you’re having a boy or girl yet?”<br/>	“My ultrasound is tomorrow. Dick’s coming with me.”<br/>	“He’s been around a lot, hasn’t he?”<br/>	“Yeah, he’s been pretty great, actually.”<br/>	“What’s he going to do when Eli wakes up and comes home?”<br/>	“I don’t know. I think he’s angling for godfather.”<br/>	“Are you going to homecoming?”<br/>	“By myself? No. I’ll just be here I think.”<br/>	“Everyone else is going. Duncan and I, Mac and Felix, Wallace and Jackie…”<br/>	“Oh, Jackie will be there, that’s a selling point.”<br/>	“Does she still hate you?”<br/>	“She is resentful of the amount of time Wallace spends with me. We’ve both tried to explain to her that I’m just his pregnant best friend/sister, but she really hates me.”<br/>	“Well, I think Dick and Logan are going stag. You could go with them.”<br/>	“I don’t…I don’t want to go without Eli.”<br/>	“Let me know if you change your mind. We’ll go dress shopping together.”<br/>	“Sure, I’ll let you know if hell freezes over. I’ll see you Sunday.”<br/>	“Thanks, Ronnie.”</p>
<p>The next day Dick takes me to my ultrasound and then brings me to the hospital. As I sit down Dick says:<br/>	“Do you want me to stay?”<br/>	“No. I’m okay, Dick. Thank you for taking me this morning.”<br/>	“Do you want me to go get you something from the cafeteria?”<br/>	“I have a sandwich and a banana in my bag. I’m okay, Dick. Really.”<br/>He leans over me and softly kisses my cheek before saying:<br/>	“If you change your mind, call me. Okay?”<br/>	“Yeah. Thanks, Dick.”</p>
<p>After he leaves I move from the chair to the bed next to Eli. I sit and hold his hand to my stomach, moving it slightly as the baby starts to kick.<br/>	“You feel that, my love? That’s our daughter. The past few months have been crap, Eli. I need you to wake up now. She needs to learn your voice before she’s born. I need you with me, Eli…Please, please fight. Wake up. Come back to me.”<br/>I sit there for a while, moving his hand around my stomach as the baby moves around. <br/>	“Mi amor, te necesito. Por favor, vuelve a mi.” (My love I need you. Please come back to me.)</p>
<p>I’m about to move off the bed when I feel his fingers flex against my stomach.<br/>	“Eli?”<br/>I feel his fingers flex again and I take his hand in mine. As soon as I do he squeezes my fingers. When I look up at his face I see his eyes open and I smile at him and say:<br/>	“Hi, baby. I’m gonna go get the doctor, okay? I’ll be right back.”<br/>I stand up to leave, but he squeezes my hand tighter.<br/>	“Eli, let me go get the doctor. Everything’s fine, baby. I promise.”<br/>He lets me go and I run out to the nurses' station.<br/>	“He’s awake.”<br/>The nurse that’s sitting there jumps up and tells another nurse to get the doctor before she follows me back to Eli’s room. When we get there Eli is grabbing at the breathing tube that’s down his throat. The nurse says:<br/>	“Calm him down. I’ll get the tube out.”</p>
<p>I walk over to Eli’s side and I take his hand in mine, softly saying:<br/>	“Stay calm, Eli. She’s going to take the tube out, okay? Just focus on me.”<br/>The nurse takes the tube out and says:<br/>	“Try not to talk, Eli. Veronica, get him a little water okay? I’ll go get some ice chips.”<br/>I nod and pour some water into a cup, grabbing a straw from the tray before holding it to his lips.<br/>	“Drink, baby. Slowly.”<br/>He takes a couple of sips and then pushes my hand away. He licks his lips and winces as he whispers:<br/>	“How long?”<br/>	“Three and a half months, baby. You’ve been asleep for three and a half months.”<br/>	“Felix?”<br/>	“Is fine. Felix and I kept our mouths shut about Thumper and Thumper kept his word. Felix is fine.”<br/>	“The baby?”<br/>	“You really gotta stop talking, Eli. The baby is fine. She’s growing well and moving lots. Here.”<br/>I take his hand and put it on my stomach where the baby is kicking and he starts to cry.<br/>	“I missed so much.”<br/>	“Stop talking, baby. Everything is fine now. You’re awake, which means soon you can come home. Parasite and I are fine.”<br/>	“Parasite?”<br/>	“Blame Wallace for that one. He says he’ll stop calling her that when she has a name.”<br/>	“Crisanta.”<br/>	“Crisanta?”<br/>	“It was my mom’s name. It means golden flower.”<br/>	“I’m not opposed to it. Stop talking. You’re going to hurt your throat.”</p>
<p>The nurse comes back in with ice chips, so I give a couple to Eli to suck on while we wait for the doctor. When the doctor comes in he checks Eli over and says:<br/>	“I’d like to do an MRI to check on the swelling, but I think Eli should be able to go home tomorrow.”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>	“I will send someone in to take him down for the test. You should call his grandma.”<br/>	“I will. Thank you, Dr. Crowley.”</p>
<p>The doctor and the nurse leave the room and Eli says:<br/>	“I want to go home with you.”<br/>	“Well, that’s good. Because we moved all of your stuff to the house months ago. We both officially live with my parents.”<br/>	“I love you.”<br/>	“I love you. Now shut up.”<br/>	“Kiss me.”<br/>	“Yeah…Hard pass. You’ve had a tube down your throat for over three months. I’m not kissing you until you brush your damn teeth.”<br/>	“Fair.”<br/>	“I’m going to call Abuelita and Felix.”<br/>He nods and settles against his pillows, reaching out to tangle his fingers with mine as I dial the phone with my other hand.</p>
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<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Fourteen</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After I call Abuelita I call Felix and as I’m hanging up with him, a couple of orderlies come in to take Eli down for his MRI. He grips my hand tighter, so I say:<br/>	“Eli, I will be right here when you get back. Cooperate so you can come home, okay?”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>I squeeze his hand and then let go so he can be taken out of the room. I’m sitting and waiting for him to be brought back when Abuelita and Felix walk in.<br/>	“Where is he?”<br/>	“Getting an MRI to check on the swelling. He’ll be back soon. Here, Abuelita, sit down.”<br/>I stand up so she can take the chair and she says:<br/>	“No, dear. You sit.”<br/>	“Abuelita. You aren’t feeling well. Haven’t been for weeks. Sit down.”<br/>She sits and I walk over next to Felix. He wraps his arms around me and quietly says:<br/>	“How are you and parasite doing?”<br/>	“Crisanta. And we’re fine, Felix.”<br/>	“He just woke up. You’ve already picked a name?”<br/>	“He suggested it. It was his mom’s name.”</p>
<p>Eli gets brought back into the room and says:<br/>	“Well, you two look cozy.”<br/>	“Oh, shush you. He’s practically your brother and he’s dating my best friend.”<br/>Once Eli is back in place and the orderlies have left he says:<br/>	“Abuelita, are you sick?”<br/>	“I’m feeling better than I was, dear. I’m getting better. Thanks to Veronica.”<br/>	“How did Veronica help?”<br/>I shrug and say:<br/>	“There was a problem with the pipes at the house. They were really old and lead. They were making Abuelita sick. I got Logan and Duncan to buy the house and replace the pipes. It took a couple of weeks, so Abuelita and the kids have been staying with us, but they’re home again now.”<br/>	“How did you manage to convince Logan and Duncan to help my family?”<br/>	“They and Dick have really stepped up. They’ve been taking care of me. Dick took me to my ultrasound this morning.”<br/>	“Did he ever find out about Beaver?”<br/>	“Yeah. He did. Beaver moved in with their mom. We’re leaving it at that, okay?”<br/>He growls and Felix laughs before saying:<br/>	“That was my reaction too. Ronnie won’t let me hunt him down though.”<br/>	“Since when do you call her Ronnie?”<br/>	“I guess the 09ers are rubbing off on me. They’re actually pretty okay to hang out with.”</p>
<p>The doctor walks in and says:<br/>	“Good news, the swelling is gone and you can take Eli home tonight. Just no strenuous activity for a couple of weeks while his body gets used to moving around again.”<br/>	“That’s great. Thanks.”<br/>	“Come with me, Veronica. We’ll go over the discharge instructions.”<br/>I pat Felix’s hand and say:<br/>	“Help Eli get dressed.”<br/>Then I follow the doctor out of the room.</p>
<p>When we get to the nurses’ station, the doctor says:<br/>	“I meant it when I said no strenuous activity, Veronica. I expect the next two weeks to be calm and relaxing for Eli. Lots of time on the couch watching movies, maybe school, but only if he feels up to it.”<br/>	“Homecoming?”<br/>	“When is it?”<br/>	“Next Friday.”<br/>	“It depends on how he’s feeling.”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>	“But Veronica, absolutely no sex.”<br/>	“I kind of figured that was covered under strenuous activity, doc.”<br/>	“I just wanted to confirm that you understood.”<br/>	“Yes, sir.”<br/>He has me sign the discharge paperwork, then says:<br/>	“Go ahead and take him home.”</p>
<p>By the time I get back to Eli’s room he’s dressed and waiting. I smile and hold my hand out before saying:<br/>	“Let’s go home.”</p>
<p>When we get back to the house, Abuelita and Felix wait in the living room while I take Eli into our room. I point at the dresser and say:<br/>	“Your clothes are in there if you want to change. There’s a new toothbrush for you in the top drawer in the bathroom. Do you feel steady enough to shower right now?”<br/>	“V…Can we just sit and talk for a bit?”<br/>	“I just thought you might want to get the smell of hospital off of you and then we could cuddle.”<br/>	“Come shower with me.”<br/>	“I can’t. Doctor’s orders. No strenuous activities for two weeks.”<br/>	“Showering with my girlfriend is a strenuous activity?”<br/>	“The way we do it? Yeah, it is.”<br/>	“Fair point. I’m okay to shower. Go sit with Abuelita and Felix.”</p>
<p>I put my hand on his cheek and say:<br/>	“I’m so glad you’re home. I missed you, so much.”<br/>He leans in and kisses my forehead before he says:<br/>	“I could hear you, you know? I couldn’t understand what you were saying most of the time, but I could hear your voice. I could feel your hand holding mine, you kissing my cheek, your tears on my neck when you laid down with me. I knew you were there, V. I could feel how much you love me. How much you wanted me to wake up. I was fighting to get back to you the whole time. I love you more than anything else in the world, Veronica. I’m sorry.”<br/>	“You were trying to protect Felix. You did protect Felix. It’s not your fault that Thumper went overboard.”<br/>	“I’m sorry I left you alone.”<br/>	“You have nothing to be sorry for, and I wasn’t alone. We have quite the extensive family unit now my love. Go shower. I’ll go make some dinner.”<br/>	“Yeah, okay.”</p>
<p>I leave the room and when I get to the living room, Felix is sitting there alone.<br/>	“Where is Abuelita?”<br/>	“In the kitchen. She decided she needed to make dinner.”<br/>	“Felix!”<br/>	“It’s not my fault. I told her to rest. She insisted and told me to stop treating her like an invalid.”<br/>	“Ugh.”</p>
<p>I walk towards the kitchen saying:<br/>	“Abuelita. I will make dinner.”<br/>When I get into the kitchen, Abuelita is already in the middle of cooking.<br/>	“I’m almost done, Veronica. I’m better, my darling. You don’t need to worry.”<br/>	“Abuelita…”<br/>	“This just needs to go into the oven and then I will go sit down. Is that acceptable?”<br/>	“Yes.”<br/>	“Good. Go sit down, Veronica.”<br/>	“Si, Abuelita.”</p>
<p>I leave the room and go back to the living room, sitting on the couch before saying:<br/>	“What in the world are you watching, Felix?”<br/>	“Some home improvement show.”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“They give me ideas.”<br/>	“But we’re all too damn broke to execute any of the ideas.”<br/>	“We won’t always be.”<br/>	“Speak for yourself. I’m going to have a newborn before I graduate from high school. It’s the broke P.I. life for me.”<br/>	“I’m thinking about going to trucking school. Maybe Weevil should too. They make like $40 an hour.”</p>
<p>From the doorway I hear:<br/>	“Yeah, but I’d have to be away from home for extended periods of time.”<br/>He walks over to the couch and picks me up before sitting down and putting me on his lap. I wrap my arms around his neck and he says:<br/>	“I brushed my teeth…twice. Can I kiss you now? Please?”<br/>I lean in and kiss him, melting against him while running my hands over his head and neck. We both grin against each other’s mouths when Felix says:<br/>	“Don’t mind me. I’ll just be here, staring at the TV.”<br/>We’re still kissing when Abuelita comes in and sits on the couch.<br/>	“I don’t want to break this up, I know how much you missed being together, but can we discuss the future a little bit?”</p>
<p>I pull away from Eli’s mouth and rest my forehead on his as I say:<br/>	“Yes, Abuelita.”<br/>	“So you’re due in March, right?”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am.”<br/>	“So what’s the plan for the last few months of school?”<br/>	“I already talked to Mr. C. He’s agreed to let me start doing my schoolwork remotely in February.”<br/>	“Is Meg doing the same thing?”<br/>	“I think so. I’ll talk to her when I see her tomorrow night.”<br/>Eli says:<br/>	“Why are you seeing Meg tomorrow night?”<br/>	“She needs my help proving that her parents are abusing her little sister.”<br/>	“No. You’re not going.”<br/>	“Oh, that’s cute. Did you somehow forget who I was while you were in your coma? This is my job. It’s what I do. Besides, the Mannings won’t hurt me.”<br/>	“And if they call the cops?”<br/>	“Don knows I’m pregnant. He’ll be careful with me.”<br/>	“How does he know?”<br/>	“He overheard Abuelita and me talking.”</p>
<p>Eli looks like he’s about to say something but Abuelita clears her throat and says:<br/>	“Eli, Veronica will be fine. This is what she does.”<br/>	“Thank you, Abuelita.”<br/>	“Now, what are your plans for after graduation?”<br/>	“I don’t know.”<br/>	“Well, here’s an answer for you…You’re going to university.”<br/>	“Abuelita…”<br/>	“No. Between myself and your parents, we can watch the baby whenever you are in class or working. You are not missing out on university.”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am.”</p>
<p>Before Abuelita can say anything there’s a knock on the door. Felix gets up and opens it, growling and saying:<br/>	“Thumper, what the hell are you doing here?”<br/>	“That’s not a very polite greeting. Let me in.”<br/>Felix looks at me and I nod, so he steps back and lets Thumper in.</p>
<p>Thumper looks at Eli and me and says:<br/>	“I went by the hospital, noticed you were gone. How are you feeling?”<br/>	“Alive.”<br/>	“You’re not planning on getting any stupid ideas, right? Your girl has been very well behaved while you were sleeping.”<br/>	“I have no interest in starting a war with you, Thumper. I’m out, Felix is out, I’m happy.”<br/>	“Good. Now, Veronica…”<br/>	“What, asshole?”<br/>He tilts his head at me and says:<br/>	“What did we say about the snark, Veronica?”<br/>	“Sorry, Thumper. What?”<br/>	“The sheriff has been sniffing around my operations, sticking his nose where it don’t belong.”<br/>	“What do you want me to do about that?”<br/>	“Make him stop. Tell him I threatened to kill you if he kept interfering.”<br/>	“But you didn’t.”<br/>	“Okay, let’s make it official…If the sheriff and that nosy deputy of his don’t stop interfering, I will kill you slowly and painfully. And I’ll start by cutting that baby out of you.”</p>
<p>I feel Eli tense up under me and can see Felix make fists behind Thumper, so I gently run my fingers along Eli’s arm and shake my head at Felix before saying:<br/>	“I’ll talk to Don and Leo.”<br/>	“Good girl.”<br/>Thumper turns and leaves the house and we all breathe a sigh of relief as Felix closes the door.</p>
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<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Fifteen</h2></a>
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    <p>I shake my head and pull out my phone, quickly dialling Don’s number.<br/>	“Ronnie? You okay?”<br/>	“Can you and Leo come to the house, please? We need to chat.”<br/>	“Uh…yeah. We’ll be right there.”</p>
<p>I hang up and snuggle closer to Eli before saying:<br/>	“Everything will be fine, mi amor.”<br/>	“Don’t underestimate Thumper, V. He will hurt you and Crisanta if the sheriff doesn’t do what he says.”<br/>	“Don will listen. He’s always a fan of doing less work.”</p>
<p>Felix sits back down in his chair and takes my hand in his.<br/>	“I’ll kill Thumper myself before I let him hurt you, Ronnie.”<br/>	“You will do no such thing, and you will never say that again. You will not give him a reason to hurt you.”<br/>	“Ronnie…”<br/>	“No, Felix. I know you are just trying to protect me, but Mac will literally kill me if something happens to you. Stay away from Thumper.”<br/>	“Fine.”<br/>	“Thank you. Now, go see your girlfriend.”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am.”<br/>He stands up and leans over to kiss my cheek before kissing Abuelita’s cheek and heading towards the door. As he opens it, Don and Leo are walking up, so he says:<br/>	“Go right in, sheriff. She’s in the living room.”<br/>Felix leaves and Don and Leo walk in. Don looks at us and says:<br/>	“Navarro. It’s good to see you awake.”<br/>	“Is it, sheriff?”<br/>Don shrugs and says:<br/>	“Only for Veronica’s sake.”</p>
<p>Before Eli can say anything I put my hand on his chest and say:<br/>	“Don, I need you and your deputies, Leo in particular, to back off of Thumper. Stay away from him and the rest of the PCHers.”<br/>	“Why?”<br/>	“He’s not happy with the amount of attention you’ve been paying to him and his business activities.”<br/>	“Veronica…What did he do?”<br/>	“He says if you don’t back off, he’ll kill me. Slowly and painfully. Starting with cutting the baby out of me.”<br/>	“I can’t just ignore that. I have to do something.”<br/>	“Don…You mocked me and refused to investigate when I was drugged and raped. I think you can handle ignoring Thumper for a while until we figure out how to stop him without pissing him off in the process.”<br/>	“Ronnie…I am sorry about that.”<br/>	“Yeah? Prove it. Back off the PCHers.”<br/>	“Fine. But anything you find out you bring to me. I don’t want you going after Thumper on your own.”<br/>	“Okay.”<br/>	“Veronica. Promise me.”<br/>	“I promise. Okay? Now, I do have something else to tell you if you can not lose your shit.”</p>
<p>He sighs and says:<br/>	“When you phrase things that way it concerns me.”<br/>	“Yeah. I know.”<br/>	“What, Veronica?”<br/>	“Meg Manning says her parents are abusing her little sister Faith. She says it’s not physical or sexual but she needs my help to prove it. I’m meeting her at her house tomorrow night to take pictures. If the Mannings call you…”<br/>	“I’ll be gentle as I cuff you.”<br/>	“Thanks, Deputy. But also…”<br/>	“Yes, I will listen to anything you have to say and look anywhere you tell me to look. Also, I will return your camera to you once we’re out of the house.”<br/>	“Thank you.”</p>
<p>Abuelita stands up and says:<br/>	“Sheriff, can you give me a ride home so Veronica doesn’t have to leave Eli?”<br/>	“Yes, ma’am. Of course.”<br/>I sit up and look at Abuelita.<br/>	“You aren’t staying for dinner?”<br/>	“No, sweetheart. It’ll be ready by the time your parents get home.”<br/>	“Thank you, Abuelita.”<br/>She leans over and kisses my cheek before kissing Eli’s and following Don and Leo out of the house.</p>
<p>As they leave I look at Eli and say:<br/>	“You look tired, sweetheart. You should go lie down.”<br/>	“I don’t want to let you go.”<br/>	“Will you take a nap if I come and lie down with you?”<br/>	“Yeah.”<br/>I stand up and hold my hand out to him, interlacing our fingers once he stands up and takes it. Once we’re in the bedroom, he lies down on the bed and I curl up next to him with my head on his chest. He runs his hand down my side and leaves it resting on my stomach as he quietly says:<br/>	“I love you, V.”<br/>	“I love you. I’m so fucking happy you’re home.”</p>
<p>I must fall asleep because the next thing I know, Wallace is sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly talking to Eli. I just look at the two of them and smile fondly as Wallace looks at me and rolls his eyes.<br/>	“Don’t get excited, Supafly. I still haven’t forgiven this cabrón for duct-taping me to the flag pole.”<br/>	“Yes, you have, little brother. You have because it’s been over a year and even you don’t hold a grudge that long, your sister loves this cabrón, and he’s the father of your niece.”<br/>	“Ugh. Fine, I guess——wait…niece?!”<br/>	“It’s a girl. We’re going to name her Crisanta.”<br/>	“Have you told Mom and Keith?”<br/>	“Not yet. Figured I’d surprise them with that after they recovered from the whole ‘Eli’s home from the hospital’ thing.”</p>
<p>We hear the front door open and close and Dad say in his best Ricky Ricardo voice:<br/>	“Lucy! We’re home!”<br/>Wallace grins and quietly says:<br/>	“Guess it’s time for surprises.”<br/>Then he loudly says:<br/>	“We’re in Veronica’s room!”<br/>As we hear Mom and Dad walking down the hall, Wallace gets off the edge of my bed and stands out of the way. When Mom walks into the room she gasps and quickly moves to the spot Wallace just vacated, pulling Eli into her arms as she says:<br/>	“Oh, Eli. You’re home. How do you feel?”<br/>He wraps his arms around her and hugs her back as he says:<br/>	“Tired, weak, but really happy to be home.”<br/>Mom pulls back and kisses his cheek before looking over her shoulder at Dad and saying:<br/>	“Keith, look.”<br/>	“I see, Alicia. Don’t smother the boy, he just got out of the hospital. Welcome home, Eli.”<br/>	“Thanks, sheriff.”</p>
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